Sales in China Fuel BMW's Profit

FRANKFURT — Bayerische Motoren Werke said Thursday that profit in the first quarter rose 18 percent as China surpassed the United States as the carmaker’s largest market for the first time, helping the company to defy the economic crisis in Europe.

Profit in the first three months of 2012 rose to €1.35 billion, or $1.77 billion, from €1.14 billion a year earlier, BMW said. Sales rose 14 percent to €18.3 billion, led by China as well as a recovery in the United States.

BMW said sales were nearly flat in Europe. But that was a better performance than other carmakers, including General Motors’ Opel unit and Ford of Europe, which have suffered steep declines.

G.M. said Thursday that it lost $300 million in Europe during the first quarter, after breaking even there a year earlier.

BMW, based in Munich, said sales have fallen in some markets in Southern Europe that have been hurt most by the euro zone debt crisis. But growth in stronger markets like Germany compensated.

“Europe is heterogeneous,” Norbert Reithofer, the chief executive of BMW, said during a conference call with journalists. “There are positive markets and negative markets.”

High-end carmakers have so far been able to dodge the worst of the downturn afflicting much of Europe, because their affluent customers are less affected by the crisis, and because they are recording big sales increases in emerging markets. Daimler, the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, last week reported a 20 percent increase in net profit to €1.4 billion.

Porsche, the maker of sports and luxury cars, which like Daimler is based in Stuttgart, said Thursday that its operating profit in the quarter rose 18.4 percent to €528 million. Sales in the quarter rose 32.4 percent to €3 billion, fueled by a new version of the iconic 911 sports car and the Panamera four-door sedan. Porsche did not disclose a net profit for the quarter.

The premium carmakers have also been pushing more aggressively into lower-priced segments, offering vehicles like the BMW 1 Series and Mercedes B-Class that are small and fuel efficient but are perceived by buyers to have more cachet than a Renault or Fiat.

“The premium segment is expanding,” Mr. Reithofer said.

BMW, which also makes Mini and Rolls-Royce cars and BMW and Husqvarna motorcycles, said sales in China rose 37 percent to about 80,000 vehicles during the quarter. In the United States, sales rose 17 percent to 76,000 vehicles. Unit sales in Europe rose 0.5 percent to 201,000 cars.

BMW said it expected to report record sales and profits for the year as it rolls out a new version of its best-selling 3 Series, but warned that Europe remains unpredictable.

“Overall,” said Friedrich Eichiner, the chief financial officer of BMW, “we expect market development to be uneven and more volatile.”