The BMW Group sold 824,932 BMW and MINI vehicles in China last year, up 4.2 percent year-on-year, said the German premium carmaker on Tuesday.

Notably, sales of all-electric BMW vehicles were the main driver of the carmaker's growth in the country, its largest market in the world.

Their deliveries totaled 99,972 units last year, soaring 138 percent year-on-year, and accounted for 30 percent of the brand's global total EV sales.

"New competitors, products and technologies created an intensely competitive Chinese automotive market in 2023," said Sean Green, president and CEO of BMW Group Region China.

"The BMW Group retained its leading position in the Chinese premium segment, whilst delivering strong results in the luxury segments and successfully transitioning our product portfolio to intelligent, electric mobility", he said.

Globally, the Munich-based carmaker delivered 2.56 million BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce vehicles in 2023.

BMW maintained its position as the world's best-selling premium marque last year, with 2.25 million units sold.

Sales of its all-electric vehicles increased 92.2 percent year-on-year in the same year, reaching 330,596 units across the world.