MUNICH, Germany, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - A chic glass building, all curvy lines, the new BMW exhibition centre opened its doors over the weekend to thousands curious to take in the German carmaker's ultimate marketing experience.

More than 40,000 visitors came to admire the latest models, learn about new technologies or simply stroll around the 15,000 square-metre (161,400 square-foot) 'BMW Welt' (World), built on the site of the carmaker's original factory founded in 1916.

FRANKFURT, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - German luxury carmaker BMW inaugurated Wednesday 'BMW Welt,' a giant exhibition and auto delivery space designed to boost the brand's prestige in an increasingly competitive market.

The steel and glass building covers 10,000 square meters (107,600 square feet) and was designed by Austrian architect Wolf Grand Prix who reportedly used the Acropolis in Athens as inspiration.

It was built in Munich, southern Germany, on the site of the first BMW factory that opened in 1916, close to the company's headquarters and the city's Olympic stadium.

FRANKFURT, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - Shares in the German automaker BMW jumped in early trading here Thursday on a broker upgrade that anticipated an unveiling of the group's strategy for the future.

BMW shares leapt 4.31 percent higher to 48.67 euros on the Frankfurt stock exchange, while the DAX index of leading shares had gained 0.86 percent overall.

FRANKFURT, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - German luxury car group BMW might set up a fourth passenger car brand in addition to its current BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce lines, a press report said Thursday.

But BMW has no plans to acquire Volvo from the US automaker Ford, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper added, citing sources.

It said a new brand was one of the topics to be addressed in a review of the company's future strategy, details of which BMW was to disclose later in the day.

FRANKFURT, Sept 26, 2007 (AFP) - The German auto group BMW will present its strategy for the future on Thursday, a source close the matter told AFP, with press reports saying it would focus on improved production and cleaner cars.

BMW boss Norbert Reithofer is to present the strategy to his supervisory board, the source said, confirming reports to appear Thursday in the magazine Capital and the daily Financial Times Deutschland.

A press conference in the southern city of Munich will follow, the source added.

FRANKFURT, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) - The four-wheel-drive CEO made by Chinese automaker Shuanghuan went on display Tuesday at the Frankfurt Motor Show despite a complaint by BMW that it is a copy of a BMW vehicle.

BMW denied claims by the company that imports the controversial cars, China Automobile Deutschland, that BMW would confiscate the vehciles on Wednesday.

'We are not planning anything tomorrow at 9:00 am,' said a BMW spokesman, although he refused to rule out further action.

'I can't say anything more for the moment.'

FRANKFURT, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) - The four-wheel-drive CEO made by Chinese automaker Shuanghuan went on display Tuesday at Frankfurt Motor Show despite a complaint by BMW that it is a copy of one of its cars.

'I am absolutely not worried' about the cars being seized by officials, said Karl Schloessl, the head of the company that imports the cars, China Automobile Deutschland.

If the vehicles were seized 'that would be the best publicity for us because it would show the quality' of the vehicles, he told AFP at the show.

FRANKFURT, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) - The four-wheel-drive CEO made by Chinese automaker Shuanghuan will be on display at the International Motor Show (IAA) despite a complaint by BMW that it is a copy of one of its cars, the head of China Automobile Deutschland said Monday.

'Of course we are coming to the IAA, there is no question of that for us,' chief executive Karl Schloessl told the WISO programme that is broadcast by ZDF television but was released in advance.

FRANKFURT, Sept 7, 2007 (AFP) - The German automaker BMW said Friday it had begun legal action against China Automobile Deutschland, which plans to exhibit a model at the Frankfurt auto show that BMW says is a copy of one of its cars.

'We have begun legal proceedings' against China Automobile, a BMW spokesman told AFP, partly confirming a report in the German magazine Automobilwoche.

The weekly said that BMW had filed a formal complaint, but the spokesman declined to provide further details on the affair.

FRANKFURT, Sept 7, 2007 (AFP) - German luxury car maker BMW outpaced rival Mercedes in August, in part thanks to strong results by BMW's high-end luxury brand Rolls-Royce, sales figures from both groups showed on Friday.

Sales by all BMW brands, including the Mini, grew by 12.9 percent to 99,755 units last month, while Mercedes posted an annual increase of 8.7 percent for total sales of 96,200 vehicles, including those sold under the Maybach and Smart logos.

FRANKFURT, Aug 7, 2007 (AFP) - BMW, the German maker of luxury cars, reported Tuesday a 20-percent rise in sales in July after selling a record 123,017 cars worldwide during the month, increasing its lead over rival Mercedes.

Deliveries for the flagship BMW brand rose 20.2 percent compared with the same month last year to 104,096 units, while the Mini brand was up 19.1 percent to 18,838 cars.

BMW was delighted by strong sales of its X5 4x4 model and the Series 1 and 3 cars.

FRANKFURT, Aug 1, 2007 (AFP) - BMW unveiled weaker-than-expected second-quarter results Wednesday as the negative eeffect of the strong euro became clear.

The German luxury carmaker maintained its full-year forecast despite the results, which saw net profit fall four percent to 753 million euros (1.03 billion dollars) compared with the same period of 2006.

Pre-tax profit was down 11 percent at 1.06 billion euros on sales figures of 14.6 billion euros that were up 11 percent.

NURBURGRING, Germany, July 22, 2007 (AFP) - BMW Sauber boss Mario Theissen was disappointed after a first corner collision between his two drivers cost the team a podium finish at their home Grand Prix on Sunday.

German Nick Heidfeld and Pole Robert Kubica were both able to recover and earn some championship points in the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, but fifth and sixth were not the positions the team had hoped for after starting from fourth and fifth.