German car sales jump in June; BMW +16%, Audi +18.5%

German carmakers posted a leap in monthly sales for June on Thursday, as demand in home markets continued to pick up and sales surged in emerging economies.
A car industry group said on Monday that Germany's car market was set for further growth in the second half of the year, following a 10% increase in unit sales in June.
BMW sold 15.9% more cars in June year-on-year and recorded the highest level of monthly sales ever, the group said on Thursday.
The carmaker sold 165,855 vehicles in the month, 134,432 of which were of the BMW brand. Year-on-year this represents a 12.3% rise in BMW brand car sales.
Group sales in Brazil rose 69% while sales doubled in India and almost tripled in Turkey.
"The figures reflect strong global demand," board member Ian Robertson said in a statement, adding however that due to the model cycle and the year-on-year base effects, he expects growth to slow in the second half of the year.
Peer Volkswagen's Audi group also reported a strong surge of 18.5% in June vehicle sales on Thursday.
Audi sold 117,650 cars in June, also spurred by demand in emerging economies and Europe, with France, Britain and Scandinavia especially strong, the group said. The Audi A1 and A8 and SUV models were particularly popular.
The European brands of U.S. car maker General Motors Co , Opel and Vauxhall, sold 8.2% more cars in the first half than a year earlier, helped by strong demand in Germany.
Shares in BMW and Volkswagen were up 1.2 and 0.9%, respectively at 0916 GMT. The wider DAX index was trading 0.5% stronger and the STOXX 600 European automobiles and parts index was up 0.9%.