Luxury vehicles, recovering auto markets boost BMW profits

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — German automaker BMW said third-quarter net profit rose 17% to 1.81 billion euros ($2.22 billion) as regional auto markets recovered and highly profitable luxury models such as the 8 Series coupe and X7 large sport-utility vehicle helped fatten the bottom line. The profit figure improved on the 1.55 billion euros recorded in the same quarter a year earlier. Group revenues fell 1.4% to 26.67 billion euros. The company said a decision to focus on expensive luxury mo