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BMW Group starts new year with strong sales growth (+28%)

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08.02.2011 - Press Release

• Deliveries up 28% in January
• BMW Group reports gains in almost all markets
• BMW Motorrad sales rise 23.6%

Munich. The BMW Group started the new year well, with strong sales growth of 28%. A total of 105,177 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand automobiles were delivered to customers worldwide in January (prev. yr. 82,150).

Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Sales and Marketing: “We made a successful start to the new year. We were able to make substantial gains in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa – as we reap the benefits of our young and attractive model range. The BMW Group has once again set itself ambitious goals for 2011 – record sales of more than 1.5 million vehicles and new highs for all three brands. We want to reinforce our global position as the leading supplier of premium automobiles.” Robertson added: “We expect growth rates to remain strong over the next few months, although the pace will slow a little in the second half of the year, due to baseline effects.”

Sales of BMW brand vehicles increased 30% in January to reach 90,841 automobiles (prev. yr. 69,861). Deliveries of the BMW X1 rose to 7,067 (prev. yr. 4,092 / +72.7%) units, while the BMW 3 Series reported 23,489 sales (prev. yr. 22,501 / +4.4%). With an increase of 118.4% to 24,109 units, sales of the BMW 5 Series doubled from the same month last year (prev. yr. 11,037). BMW 5 Series GT volumes climbed 131.3%, with 2,160 vehicles delivered to customers (prev. yr. 934). The new BMW X3 met with exceptionally strong demand and was purchased by 5,982 (prev. yr. 3,072 / +94.7%) customers in January.

The MINI brand also continued on its growth track in January and, at 14,126 units, sold 15.8% more vehicles year-on-year (12,202). The main growth driver was the new MINI Countryman, with 3,505 deliveries.

Rolls-Royce remained the clear market leader in the ultra-luxury segment last month. A total of 210 (prev. yr. 87) Phantom and Ghost models were sold worldwide in January – an increase of 141.4%.

The signs indicated growth for BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce in virtually all European markets, the Americas, Africa and Asia, in the month under review.

In Europe, the company sold 19.3% more vehicles in total than in January 2010 (49,029 / prev. yr. 41,096). New vehicle registrations for BMW Group vehicles in Germany rose 30.9% to 18,223 units (prev. yr. 13,924). The BMW brand increased sales here by 31.5% (16,054 / prev. yr. 12,210) and, with a market share of 7.6%, led the premium segment. In the U.K, BMW Group deliveries were 44.9% (9,394 / prev. yr. 6,482) higher in the month under review; in France, the increase was 38.6% (3,022 / prev. yr. 2,180).

The BMW Group also reported healthy growth in the U.S. Sales here climbed to 18,656 units – an increase of 21.1%. Once again, China also showed dynamic growth. In January, 20,308 Chinese customers purchased a new BMW or MINI (prev. yr. 11,919 / +70.4%).

Growth also received a strong boost from key emerging markets, among others, with consistent double-digit sales growth: Russia (+30.7% to 1,476 units), South Korea (+52.9% to 1,850), Brazil (+111.1% to 859) and India (+46.6% to 500).

With a substantial increase in year-on-year sales of 23.6%, BMW Motorrad also made a successful start to the new year. A total of 4,714 (prev. yr. 3,814) BMW motorcycles were delivered to customers worldwide in January 2011, continuing the steady sales growth of the previous year. BMW Motorrad recorded sales growth of 12.3 % for the full year 2010, against the overall market trend, and expanded its market share in all relevant motorcycle markets. This year, further impetus for growth will come from the revised Boxer roadster model, the R 1200 R / R 1200 R Classic; BMW Motorrad’s new entry-level model, the BMW G 650 GS; and, above all, from its new top models with 6-cylinder engine, the K 1600 GT and the K 1600 GTL.

[AlpineMan]

Don't compare the numbers to before 2010 or anything...