BMW's sales in the Chinese market are expected to increase by at least 30 percent this year, according to Christoph Stark, president and CEO of the BMW Group in China.

Over the first 10 months of this year, the luxury car manufacturer sold 71,952 BMW and mini cars on the Chinese mainland, up 36.7 percent over the same period last year. The sales to date have already exceeded the total volume for 2008, which stood at 65,822 units.

Stark confessed he was "very happy" about BMW's performance in China this year. Given a year-on-year sales increase of more than 80 percent in October alone, he said he could hardly expect more.