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 German car manufacturer BMW made less profit in the first quarter despite a good run with expensive models and an increase in sales, the company reported on Wednesday.

BMW earnings before interest and taxes dropped by around a quarter year-on-year to 4.05 billion euros ($4.35 billion), the company announced.

The model changeover of BMW's important 5 Series vehicle had a negative impact on the figures, as did the higher proportion of fully electric cars, which are less profitable to sell for the company.

"The past nine quarters underline BMW's continuity and reliability. As planned, we are dynamically expanding the share of electric vehicles while maintaining our high level of profitability. Some call this transformation -- for us, it is continuous progress," Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, said in a statement.

The company's profit margin before interest and taxes in the car business, perhaps the most important key figure for investors, BMW lost 3.3 percentage points to 8.8 per cent of sales.

Total sales for BMW and its brands remained roughly stable at 36.6 billion euros ($39.3 billion).

BWM sold 594,533 cars in the first three months, an increase of 1.1 per cent. On balance, the car manufacturer made a group profit of 2.95 billion euros ($3.17 billion), nearly a fifth less than a year earlier.

BMW chief executive Oliver Zipse confirmed the company's previous annual forecasts.