BERLIN, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Despite ongoing scandals surrounding excessive nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel vehicles, and illicit collusion in the German automotive industry, BMW expressed confidence on Thursday that business would continue to improve during the second half of 2017.
The Munich-based firm now expects "solid" revenue growth of more than 5 percent, upgrading an earlier estimate for slight growth of up to 5 percent.
On Wednesday, BMW had surprised markets by releasing strong second quarter figures. The car manufacturer sold more than 633,000 vehicles internationally between April and June, an increase of more than 5 percent compared to the previous year.
Nonetheless, analysts are concerned about the potential cost of anti-trust fines and diesel motor upgrades for the DAX-listed company. Nearly a third of vehicles in BMW's fleet are diesel-fueled, the highest share of all luxury carmakers according to experts.
Chief executive officer (CEO) Harald Krueger has announced his intention to introduce new models in the more profitable high-end segment as a means of generating funds for research into and development of self-driving electric cars.
BMW has offered to install free software upgrades in 225,000 diesel vehicles to lower their nitrogen oxide emissions. Additionally, the firm is offering premiums to swap older, more polluting diesel vehicles against newer, more efficient, diesel or electric models.
Krueger called for a return to a less emotional discussion on the subject of diesel. According to the CEO, environmental protection included combatting climate change and in this regard, diesel motors were superior to traditional combustion engines. Modern diesel vehicles were also comparable or superior to combustion engines when it came to nitrogen oxide pollution, he said.
Krueger rejected claims that his company had sought to falsify diesel vehicles' emission levels during test settings. BMW used technology which differed markedly from that of its competitors, he argued.
"The results of national and international investigations by authorities have confirmed that vehicles of the BMW Group were not manipulated," Krueger said.
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