German carmaker BMW said Wednesday that its sales rose 12 per cent in June despite negative influence from surging oil prices.

"We are well on the way," said BMW Chief Helmut Panke.

BMW sees a rise of 9 percent in sales in the first half of 2005.

Panke stressed BMW was sticking to its forecast for sales for 2005 to surge by a high single-digit percentage.

Panke said he expected BMW in 2005 could remain at last year's high level of profit despite the weak US dollar, high raw material prices and fierce global competition.

BMW reported record earnings of 2.22 billion euros (2.64 US dollars) in 2004.

Source: Xinhua