FRANKFURT, June 20 (Reuters) - German luxury carmaker BMW AG is considering launching a minivan but it might not do so before 2006, board member Michael Ganal was quoted as saying in an interview released by a newspaper on Sunday.
Ganal told Die Welt that BMW would extend its product range by a spacious minivan car "as soon as markets are ready for a BMW-specific solution."
"We are already working on the solution," Ganal said in the interview, which was released ahead of publication on Monday.
Ganal would not say exactly when the minivan would be launched. But asked whether it would be after 2006, he said: "Amongst traders, to be silent means to affirm."
BMW expects to post its highest earnings ever this year and has repeatedly predicted record vehicle sales for all three of its brands -- BMW, Mini and Rolls Royce -- in 2004.