By Christina Amann and Victoria Waldersee
MUNICH (Reuters) – BMW is confident that sales in China will grow next year, finance chief Nicolas Peter told Reuters on Monday, attributing high demand for premium cars to travel restrictions which meant consumers had more money to spend.
Car sales in China have fallen in recent months as floods, COVID-19 outbreaks and a semiconductor shortage hit the domestic market – but BMW has bucked the trend, reporting a 12% rise in sales there in its second quarter results.
“The market will not grow as quickly as it did over the last 12 months – that was when the catch-up effects after the corona disruption made themselves felt,” Peter said. “But we do expect it to grow.”
In addition, BMW was profiting from international travel restrictions that have left more money in people’s pockets in China for discretionary spending, he added.
(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Christina Amann, Editing by Douglas Busvine)
