Berlin  - Two of the world's top luxury carmakers - BMW and Audi - forecast Monday further rises in worldwide sales after posting modest gains in sales last month amid signs that the premium auto sector is recovering from the economic crisis.

While Munich-based BMW, the world's leading premium carmaker said sales climbed 2 per cent in October, rival Audi, the luxury offshoot of Volkswagen reported a
0.4-per-cent sales gain.

"Our sales figures have been steadily recovering since April and we were able to make gains in October as planned," said BMW sales and marketing chief Ian Robertson.

"We expect to see further solid growth in November and December," he added.

Likewise, German-based Audi on Monday raised its 2009 sales target from 900,000 units to 925,000.

However, this is lower than the record 1 million vehicle sales Audi set in 2008.

Nevertheless, Audi appeared cautiously optimistic about the coming months.

"Our sales figures worldwide have developed much better than expected," Audi sales chief Peter Schwarzenbauer said releasing the data.

But underscoring the impact of the economic crisis on the luxury car sector, sales at the two auto groups fell during the first 10 months of the year.

While BMW said group vehicle sales dropped 14 per cent in the first 10 months of the year to 1.05 million units, Audi reported a 6.7 per-cent fall in the first 10 months to 787,900.(dpa)