On a roll: Sales of super-expensive Rolls-Royce cars are up 33 percent globally

Sales of luxury Rolls-Royce cars, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, soared all around the world during the first half of the year, even in Europe which is recovering slowly from recession.

The Britain-based manufacturer said Tuesday that global sales were up 33 percent compared with the same period in 2013.

Growth was strongest in Europe, up over 60 percent. That increase came in spite of fairly muted economic growth across many parts of the continent, where a number of countries remain burdened by high levels of government and household debt.

Across the Asia Pacific region, sales spiked by almost 40 percent. Middle East sales were also strong, up 30 percent, while the United States and China also saw double-digit sales growth.

The company said it sold 1,968 cars in the first half of this year, compared to 1,475 in the same period last year. In the whole of 2013, it sold a total of 3,630.

Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce's parent company, Germany's BMW, said it saw vehicles sales rise across the group by almost seven percent during the period.