Mini in the lead as car sales pick up

The Oxford manufacturer boosted its sales to 1,399 last month, representing a rise of 86 per cent compared to August, 2010.Engines for the Mini range are made at the Hams Hall plant near Birmingham.Figures published the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Tradersshow that 59,346 vehicles were sold last month – an increase of 7.3 per cent on the previous August.Major manufacturers Ford and Vauxhall posted healthy rises of 18 and 12 per cent respectively and the German brands, like Audi, VW and BMW, performed well.But there was less good news for the two arms of Jaguar Land Rover. Jaguar sales dipped by 33 per cent, while Land Rover’s were down by 27 per cent.The future, however, is much brighter for Land Rover as it has already sold 20,000 units of its eagerly-awaited new Range Rover Evoque.