DESPITE all the glossy brochures, the millions spent on television advertising and the razzmatazz of the international motor shows, there's no doubt the automobile industry is going through a torrid time at the moment.

But amid all the talk of crisis, one car company seems to rise above it all.

Of all the major players, BMW is the manufacturer with the least to worry about.

Despite difficult market conditions, the German group continues to out-perform its rivals by some distance.

So far this year, it has sold 646,531 cars and motorcycles, an increase of 9.4 per cent on the same period last year. Sales volume was boosted by new models such as the 1 Series and the Mini Convertible.

That is great news for BMW's 9,000-strong UK workforce, who build the Mini range at a bespoke factory in Oxford.

The group employs 105,888 people worldwide - a modest 500 increase on the year before - and manufactures cars in the US, Britain and Germany.

Last year, BMW overtook arch rival Mercedes in the premium car sector and the marque has shown no signs of faltering.

Even fears that its daring new styling direction was proving a turn-off for traditional buyers have failed to dent the remorseless sales drive.

The strange-styling of the 7-Series has been diluted and successfully transferred to the 5-Series and the bread and butter 3-Series models.

Nor has this increase been achieved at the expense of profit per car sold. Analyst Merrill Lynch says BMW makes 8.4 per cent on its vehicles. Mercedes makes only 5.4 per cent.

The only fly in the ointment is at Rolls-Royce, where fears of recession have seen a levelling off in orders. Some 159 Rolls-Royce Phantoms were completed in the second quarter, 20 fewer than the previous year.

But Rolls-Royce remains a small contributor to overall group coffers, despite the six figure sums its models command.

The next big push will be in Asia where BMW remains a niche player. That's why the company is boosting production in Thailand and opening a factory in China.

Helmut Panke, who became chairman of the board of management at the end of the annual meeting in May 2002, has kept BMW firing on all cylinders.

He can afford to relax, safe in the knowledge his company is well prepared for any market problems.

"We remain on course for the full year and confirm our aim of achieving the high earnings level of the previous year. To a large extent, the BMW Group will be able to offset the external adverse factors affecting it."