BERLIN -- Sales of the BMW Group's BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles in the first quarter (Q1) of 2022 fell by 6.2 percent year-on-year to 596,907 units, the German carmaker said on Thursday.

Sales of the group's core brand BMW even fell 7.3 percent to 519,796 vehicles. Sales of the MINI brand were slightly up, while the luxury brand Rolls-Royce recorded significant growth of 18 percent.

In the United States, BMW and MINI deliveries increased by 3.7 percent to 80,590 units, while in Europe, combined sales declined by 7.8 percent to 220,076 units, according to the company.

"Working closely with its Chinese partners," BMW sold 208,507 vehicles in China in Q1. Sales of fully-electric vehicles also "performed well" and were up 207.9 percent year-on-year, it noted.

Registering an increase of 149.2 percent, global sales of fully-electric BMW and MINI vehicles in Q1 more than doubled compared to the same quarter of last year. The carmaker aims to achieve similar growth rates in 2022.