BMW Group August sales increased by 9.7%

With 121,615 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand automobiles sold worldwide last month (+9.7%, prev. yr. 110,903 units), the BMW Group achieved its best-ever August sales result. Since the beginning of the year the BMW Group has delivered 1,157,777 vehicles worldwide, an increase of 7.9% compared with the first eight months of the previous year (1,073,396).

Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Sales and Marketing BMW: “We achieved record sales once again in August. Models such as the BMW 1 and BMW 3 Series, the BMW X1 and X3, as well as the BMW 6 Series reported strong gains and made a positive contribution to our record sales performance last month. We expect further gains in the coming months and we are absolutely on track to achieve a new sales record in 2012. We will continue to aim for a healthy balance in sales between Europe, Asia and the Americas, in both mature and emerging markets.”

BMW brand worldwide sales increased by 8.3% in August to 102,730 vehicles (prev. yr. 94,893). From January to August, 963,110 BMW brand vehicles were delivered, which was 7.8% higher than for the same period in the previous year (893,505). One of the main growth drivers in August was the BMW 1 Series – sales surged to 14.565 units, an increase of 91.0% over the previous year (7,627). Solid gains were achieved by the BMW 3 Series Sedan with 20.951 (prev. yr. 18.069/ +15.9%) units sold. Sales of the BMW 5 Series increased by 3.7% to 23,337 vehicles (prev. yr. 22,515). The newly modified BMW X1 had a successful start in its first full month in August with 11.039 vehicles delivered, an increase of 33.4% over the same month last year (prev. yr. 8,274). The BMW X3 continued its sales momentum with worldwide sales increasing 7.6% to 9,817 units (prev. yr. 9,126) in August. Sales for the BMW X6 climbed 22.0% in the reported month to 3,430 vehicles (prev. yr. 2,811).

The BMW 6 Series remains the clear leader in its segment with 1,747 vehicles delivered in August, an increase of 276.5% over the same month last year (prev. yr. 464).

MINI brand sales climbed +18.5% to 18,671 vehicles worldwide in August (prev. yr. 15,762). MINI had an excellent month in many of its larger markets such as the U.S. (5,718/ +83.9%), Great Britain (1,503/ +24.4%) and China (1,877/ +61.5%). Sales for MINI have increased by 8.3% to 192,652 vehicles in the first eight months of 2012 (prev. yr. 177,831).

The MINI Countryman remains one of the key growth drivers with 63.817 vehicles sold since the beginning of the year, an increase of +22.9% over the same period in 2011 (51,920).

Markets:

The BMW Group reported healthy gains in many of its markets last month.

In Asia, sales surged by 29.6% in August to 37,994 vehicles (prev. yr. 29,311). The BMW Group made strong gains in Asia in the first eight months of the year, with sales climbing by 25.6% to 312,052 vehicles (prev. yr. 248,515). Mainland China accounted for 25,377 deliveries in August, an increase of 37.5% over the same month in the previous year (18,462). Year-to-date, 207,425 BMW and MINI vehicles have been sold in Mainland China (prev. yr. 158,934) which reflects an increase of 30.5%.

In Europe, BMW Group sales grew last month by 5.0% to 49,349 vehicles (prev. yr. 47,021). In the first eight months, BMW Group sales were slightly over last year’s level, with a total of 547,355 vehicles delivered (prev. yr. 546,770/ +0.1%). The new BMW 3 Series Touring, which accounts for two thirds of BMW 3 Series registrations in Germany, is expected to bring further momentum to sales in European markets with its launch this month.

In the Americas, the BMW Group delivered 29,142 vehicles in August (prev. yr. 29,916/ -2.6%). Since the beginning of the year, 256,838 vehicles were delivered to customers in the Americas, which reflected an increase of +6.7% on the previous year (240,792). The BMW Group in the U.S. reported August sales of 22,553 vehicles (prev. yr. 23,924/ -5.7%). Year-to-date, the BMW Group is up 7.6% on sales of 208,268 vehicles in the first eight months of 2012 compared to 193,565 in the same period in 2011. Sales in the U.S. are expected to accelerate in the coming months with the launch of the new BMW 3 Series with xDrive and the BMW X1 this month.

In the dynamic young markets of Russia (3,230 units / +27.2%), South Korea (2,766 units / +28.4% and Turkey (1,507 / +68.2%), BMW Group sales continued to be strong in August.

With 7,400 units, BMW Motorrad supplied more vehicles than ever before in the month of August. 11.3 % more vehicles were handed over to customers than in August 2011 (6,564). From January up to and including August 2012, BMW Motorrad supplied 76,729 (prev.yr. 78,280 units / -2.0 %) motorcycles and maxi scooters to its customers. Husqvarna Motorcycles supplied a total of 6,101 vehicles (prev.yr. 4,729 units / +29.0 %) to the Husqvarna dealer network up to and including August 2012. Supplies in the month of August totaled 372 vehicles (prev.yr. 335 units / +11%).

Source: BMW