FRANKFURT, Germany (AP)- Germany automaker BMW says it is shooting for another record year in 2012, issuing an upbeat outlook for higher car sales and profits.

The company said Monday it would improve on the 1,668,982 in vehicles sales from last year, a 14 percent increase from the year before, and would post higher pretax profit than the record euro7.38 billion from 2011.

CEO Norbert Reithofer said the company’s new 3-series sedan, which went on sale in February, would make a strong contribution.

Reithofer said that “we are starting the new year with a strong order book and attractive model palette” and that the company “will grow more strongly than the market as a whole.”