German luxury automaker BMW AG says earnings fell 28 percent in the second quarter due to higher costs for investments in new technology, and after a large one-time plus from the year-ago quarter affected the comparison, AP said.

Net profit fell to €1.28 billion ($1.57 billion) from €1.77 billion a year ago. Sales rose 7 percent to €19.2 billion.

The company said Wednesday that higher costs for new technologies, vehicle development and personnel played a role in the earnings decrease. It also said that the previous year's quarter had seen record earnings boosted by €464 million in one-time additions to earnings.

The company reported record sales of 475,000 vehicles and said its profit margins remained at a strong 11.6 percent.