THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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FRANKFURT, Germany - BMW's sales in August increased two per cent over the same period a year ago with the Mini and Rolls Royce brands the main contributors, the German carmaker said Friday.

August sales of BMW cars were flat versus a year ago, but Mini sales were up nearly 11 per cent, while Rolls Royce car sales increased by 23 per cent on the same month a year ago.

Meanwhile, BMW motorcycles fell nine per cent.

For the first nine months, the group's sales are up more than four per cent, with BMW cars up 2.2 per cent; Mini up 15 per cent and Rolls Royce up more than 52 per cent.

Motorcycle sales continued to lag, down nearly three per cent in the first nine months.

"The difficult economic conditions on the global automobile markets remain a major challenge," said Ian Robertson, BMW AG's sales and marketing manager, in a statement.

"However, the BMW Group was able to continue to grow during the month with a strong focus on high performing and profitable markets across the world."

He said the company's redesign of the BMW 3 series and the launch of the new BMW 7 series should contribute to sales over the next few months.

BMW said Asia saw a 32 per cent increase in sales in August, eastern Europe a 19 per cent increase, and North America a 1.7 per cent increase.

In western Europe, sales fell by 2.5 per cent for the month.