Famous British car brands achieve record sales

SALES figures from two of Britain’s most famous car brands have reached record highs in 2013.

Mini and Rolls-Royce, which are both owned by BMW, have sold more cars than ever before.

Thanks to a spate of popular new models, a total of 305,030 Minis were purchased across the globe last year - up 1.2% on the 2012 figure.

Produced in Oxford by BMW, the Mini's biggest market last year was the USA, where more than 66,000 were bought. The UK was the next-biggest market, with sales of 53,507.

Sales of Rolls-Royce vehicles - manufactured at its Goodwood plant in West Sussex - totalled 3,630 worldwide in 2013, up 1.5% on the previous record year of 2012.

Welcoming the figures, BMW sales and marketing chief Ian Robertson said: "Despite the prevailing headwinds in many markets, we aim to increase sales and make 2014 another record year."

The BMW statistics were announced a day after Jaguar Land Rover reported record-breaking global sales for 2013 of 425,006 vehicles - up 19% on 2012.

By Press Association reporter