BMW's sales rose faster in June than at Audi and Mercedes as demand from China and the US helped the German luxury car maker to extend a lead over its two main rivals in the first six months of the year.

Sales at BMW's core brand were up 9.4 percent in June to 153,000 autos, the Munich-based company said on Monday, compared with growth of 8.3 percent and 5.5 percent respectively at Mercedes and Volkswagen-owned Audi.

Six-month sales at BMW rose 7.7 percent to 804,000 cars, expanding the lead over runner-up Audi to 24,000 from 11,000 after five months.

Reuters