BMW Group sales climb

• BMW Group sales climb 23.0% in November
• Best ever November with 170,932 BMW Group   vehicles delivered
• BMW brand sales volume up 26.4%
• BMW South Africa sales up 7,6%
• Robertson: Record sales year well within reach

Munich. The BMW Group experienced growth on all continents in November and achieved another record month in sales. With 170,932 (prev. yr. 138,954) BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand automobiles delivered worldwide, sales were 23.0% higher than in the same month last year. It was also the best first eleven months for the company, with sales up 10.1% compared to the same period last year. A total of 1,664,088 BMW Group vehicles were delivered during this time (prev. yr. 1,510,857), just short of the total number of vehicles delivered in the whole of 2011 (1,668,982).

Locally, BMW South Africa delivered 2,144 vehicles to customers last month which was an increase of 7,6% higher than the same month in 2011 (1,993). To date, 26,446 vehicles have been delivered to South African customers – an increase of 9,5% compared to the same period last year (24,161).

Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Sales and Marketing BMW: “Our attractive product portfolio continues to be in strong demand right across the globe and we have achieved another record month in sales. The success of our models proves the strength of our premium brands and that we are building the vehicles people desire. We posted solid gains in many of our markets last month and we aim to continue the momentum. This puts our record sales target for 2012 well within reach and we will once again be the number one premium car company worldwide.”

BMW brand worldwide sales increased by 26.4% in November to 145,452 vehicles (prev. yr. 115,106). Sales of the BMW X3 remained strong with 14,653 units delivered last month (prev. yr. 11,397/ +28.6%). The current BMW X3 has been one of the growth drivers for BMW over the past two years, with over 250,000 BMW X3 vehicles delivered to customers since its launch in November 2010. Sales for the current BMW X3 have risen by over 23.0% compared to its predecessor in the same period of time. The BMW X1 continued its momentum with sales climbing by 37.3% to 14,711 vehicles (prev. yr. 10,714).

Demand for the BMW 1 Series remained high, with sales climbing 37.3% to 20,914 units (prev. yr. 15,234). Strong gains were achieved by the BMW 3 Series, with sales jumping by 35.7% to 40,700 vehicles last month (prev. yr. 29,998). The new BMW 3 Series Touring contributed to this growth with 7,766 units sold last month, an increase of 35.3% compared to the previous year (5,739). Sales of the BMW 5 Series increased by 28.1% to 30,232 vehicles (prev. yr. 23,607) and demand for the BMW 6 Series continued to be strong with 2,166 vehicles delivered last month (prev. yr. 1,391/ +55.7%).

From January to November, 1,388,274 BMW brand vehicles were delivered, which was 10.9% higher than for the same period in the previous year (1,252,202).

In South Africa, BMW brand sales increased by 5,7% to 1,904 (prev. yr. 1,802). Sales of the BMW 3 Series Sedan, BMW 1 Series 5-door, BMW 5 Series Sedan, BMW X5 and BMW X3 remained steady. To date, BMW brand sales totalled 23,895 (prev. yr. 21,860 / +9,3%).

MINI delivered 25,077 vehicles worldwide in November (prev. yr. 23,528), which was an increase of 6.6% compared to the previous year. In the U.S., MINI sales increased by 10.5% to 5,248 (prev. yr. 4,750) and in Mainland China sales soared by 66.1% to 2,085 vehicles (prev. yr. 1,255). Worldwide sales for the MINI Hatch grew by 10.5% in November to 11,820 vehicles (prev. yr. 10,694) and MINI Countryman sales remained solid with 8,602 vehicles delivered (prev. yr. 8,199/ +4.9%). In the first eleven months of the year, MINI sales have increased by 6.7% to 272,773 vehicles (prev. yr. 255,593).

In South Africa, MINI brand sales increased by 25,7% to 240 (prev. yr. 191). To date, 2,551 MINIs have been delivered to local customers – an increase of 10,9% compared to the same period in 2011 (2,301).

In Europe, where conditions remain challenging, the BMW Group increased sales of its vehicles by 9.9% to 76,084 in November (prev. yr. 69,237). For the period from January to November, BMW Group sales increased slightly in Europe, with a total of 787,286 vehicles delivered (prev. yr. 775,837/ +1.5%).

In Asia, BMW Group sales soared by 48.9% last month to 45,990 vehicles (prev. yr. 30,886). The company made strong gains in Asia in the first eleven months of the year, with sales climbing 30.0% to 444,859 vehicles (prev. yr. 342,176). Mainland China accounted for 31,090 deliveries in November, an increase of 62.3% over the same month in the previous year (19,155). The substantial growth is due to the current ramp-up of the locally-produced BMW X1 and BMW 3 Series Long Wheelbase, as well as the year-on-year effect related to the run-out of the BMW 3 Series at the end of last year. Year-to-date, 295,974 BMW and MINI vehicles have been sold in Mainland China (prev. yr. 215,023), which reflects an increase of 37.6%.

In the Americas, the BMW Group also experienced strong growth in November with 43,356 vehicles delivered, an increase of 29.0% on the previous year (33,599). Since the beginning of the year, 373,398 vehicles have been delivered to customers in the Americas (prev. yr. 339,789/ +9.9%). In the U.S., BMW Group sales climbed 38.8% in November to 36,461 vehicles (prev. yr. 26,271). Year-to-date, the BMW Group is up 11.3% on sales of 303,728 vehicles in the first eleven months of 2012 compared to 272,873 in the same period in 2011.

BMW Motorrad delivered 6,749 units in November (prev. yr.: 6,112/ +10.4%). Supplies of motorcycles and maxi scooters from January up to and including November totaled 100,289 units (prev. yr.: 100,054/ +0.2%). Husqvarna Motorcycles supplied a total of 9,484 vehicles (prev. yr.: 7,956/ +19.2%) to the Husqvarna dealer network from January up to and including November. Supplies in the month of November totaled 1,155 vehicles (prev. yr.: 1,181/ -2.2%).

BMW Motorrad in South Africa delivered 204 units to customers (prev.yr. 198 / +3,2%). To date, the number motorcycles delivered to local customers is 2,253 (prev. yr. 2,184 / +3,2%).

BMW Group sales in/up to November 2012 at a glance