Official Release: Worldwide sales for MINI climbed 3.9% to 32,337 vehicles in the month under review (prev. yr 31,112). Year-to-date, MINI sales are up +7.0% to 151,875 units compared to 141,915 in the first six months of 2011. Demand for the MINI Countryman remained strong with close to 50,000 cars delivered to customers in the first half year, an increase of +23.4% compared to the same period in 2011 (49,588/ prev. yr. 40,174). MINI saw robust growth in several Asian markets in the first half year, including Mainland China with 11,356 cars (prev. yr. 8,445/ +34.5%) and Japan with 8,332 cars (prev. yr. 6,312/ +32%). In the U.S., MINI experienced solid growth with sales up 7.5% on volume of 32,059 compared to 29,816 in the first six months of 2011. MotoringFile