BMW Group posts record sales for April

The BMW Group continued on its successful course as the world’s leading premium car company once again in April with an increase of 6.1 per cent in sales. A total of 145,505 (previous year 137,195) BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brand automobiles were sold worldwide last month. Over the past four months the number of deliveries climbed 9.8 per cent to a new record of 571,040 vehicles (previous year 519,958).

“Following on from the best first quarter in the company’s history, we have just reported our most successful April sales ever. We are well on course to achieving a record year in 2012. We are clearly benefitting from a very attractive product line-up which is finding success with customers right across the globe. This momentum will continue as we add new vehicles throughout the year, such as the BMW 6-series Gran Coupe in June," said Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management, Sales and Marketing BMW.

The BMW Group made strong gains in nearly all regions and in many markets in the month under review. Sales continued to grow dynamically in Asia with 39,770 vehicles delivered (previous year 31,803/ +25.1 per cent). China accounted for 27,197 deliveries, an increase of 30.8 per cent over the same month last year (previous year 20,800) in China. Sales were solid across America with 32,705 vehicles delivered in April (previous year 31,491/ +3.9 per cent). In the US, 26,793 vehicles were delivered in April which reflects an increase of + 6.1 per cent over the same month last year (previous year 25,247).

In Europe, sales remained at last year’s level with 68,033 vehicles sold (previous year 69,409/ -2 per cent). Several markets in northern and central Europe attained healthy growth in April, for example the Netherlands (2,100/ +29 per cent), France (5,150/ +9.2 per cent) and Austria (2,057/ +9.4 per cent). In Germany, a total of 27,192 new BMW and Mini vehicles were registered in April, an increase of +6.2 per cent over last year (previous year 25,600). The BMW brand accounted for 23,420 registrations (previous year 21,866/ +7.1 per cent) and Mini for 3,772 registrations (previous year 3,734/ +1 per cent).

BMW: Worldwide sales of BMW brand vehicles climbed to 121,476 (previous year 113,090 / +7.4 per cent) in the month under review. The brand has delivered a total of 478,030 (previous year 434,270) vehicles to customers worldwide since the start of the year – an increase of 10.1 per cent. At the end of April, the BMW 1-series, the X1, the BMW 3-series Sedan and Convertible, the BMW 5-series, the BMW X5 and the BMW 6-series were all leaders in their segments. Demand for the BMW 1-series 5-door Hatch remains strong with 14,551 vehicles delivered in April, an increase of 68.3 per cent over the same month last year. The BMW 3-series Sedan also reported strong gains in April with a total of 24,006 vehicles delivered to customers, an increase of 26.3 per cent compared to last year (previous year 19,010). Sales of the BMW X3 continued to climb, with 12,229 units sold in April, an increase of 23.5 per cent over the previous year (9,903). Growth was further driven by the BMW 6-series which was delivered to 1,561 customers worldwide in April (previous year 702/ +122.4 per cent).

Mini: With 23,789 vehicles delivered in April, worldwide sales for Mini remained at last year’s level (previous year 23,839/ -0.2 per cent). In the month under review, Mini achieved strong growth in several European countries such as France (1,569/ +22.2 per cent) and Italy (1,652/ +13.9 per cent), however there was lower demand in southern European countries such as Spain and Portugal. The brand also experienced dynamic growth in Asia, such as in Japan (1,353/ +32.4 per cent), China (1,905/ +36.1 per cent) and Korea (450/ +50 per cent). The new Mini Roadster has had an excellent start with nearly 2,000 units (1,976) already delivered to customers since its launch at the end of February. Year-to-date, Mini sales are up +8.6 per cent with 92,000 units compared to 84,699 in the first four months of 2011.

Motorcycles: In the first four months of 2012, BMW Motorrad sold 37,461 (previous year 36,181) vehicles. This represents a growth of 3.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2011. A total of 13,088 (previous year 13,072 / +0.1 per cent) BMW Motorrad vehicles were delivered to customers in April.

Husqvarna delivered 918 (previous year 603 / +52.2 per cent) motorcycles last month to its dealer network. Year-to-date, deliveries grew +40 per cent to 3,560 motorcycles compared with the first four months of 2011 (previous year 2,543).

Posted in: BMW,BMW Group,Ian Robertson,International,Sale Report,Year-to-Date Sales