BMW Group reports strongest first half year ever in sales

BMW Group achieved record sales for the first six months of the year, with a total of 900,539 vehicles delivered worldwide, an increase of 8.1 per cent over the same period last year (previous year: 833,391). The company also achieved its second highest sales
volume ever in a single month, with 172,516 BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles delivered worldwide in June (previous year: 165,868/ +4.0 per cent).

"We are very pleased with the positive result for the first half year. The BMW Group achieved record sales again in June and for the first six months of the year and we have an overall record for 2012 well in our sight. There will be additional new models arriving in the coming months, which are expected to bring further momentum in the second half of the year. As the world's highest-selling premium car company, it is important to us to continue to maintain a good balance between Europe, Asia and the Americas and to continue making gains on all continents, in large and small markets," said Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management, Sales and Marketing BMW.

The BMW Group made gains on all continents in the month under review. In Europe, sales increased by 1.5 per cent to 92,686 vehicles (previous year: 91,356). Year-to-date, BMW Group sales remain at last year's level with 437,066 vehicles delivered to customers in Europe (previous year 437,399/ -0.1 per cent). The BMW 3-series Touring, which accounts for two thirds of BMW 3-series registrations in the German home market, is expected to bring further momentum to European markets with its launch in September.

In Asia, the BMW Group delivered 237,875 vehicles in the first six months of 2012 and reported a growth of 25.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2011 (previous year: 189,254). In the month under review, 38,352 vehicles were delivered (previous year 34,836 / +10.1 per cent). Several Asian markets saw strong double digit growth in the first half year including smaller markets such as Indonesia (1,061/ +48.0 per cent), and larger markets such as Japan (27,698/ +27.4 per cent) and China. Mainland China accounted for 23,930 deliveries in June, an increase of 13.1 per cent over the same month last year (previous year: 21,158). Due to a model changeover, some models were not available in the month under review. Year-to-date, 158,956 BMW and Mini vehicles have been sold in Mainland China (previous year: 121,614) which reflects an increase of 30.7 per cent. The uptake of the new BMW 3-series Long Wheelbase, available as of mid-July, is expected to provide for further robust growth in China in the second half of the year.

America saw a slight increase in growth with 35,116 vehicles delivered in June (previous year: 34,414/ +2.0 per cent). In the first six months, 194,620 vehicles have been delivered to customers in America, which reflects an increase of +8.8 per cent on the previous year (178,901).

In the US, 27,720 vehicles were delivered last month, an increase of +3.2 per cent on the same month last year (previous year: 26,865). Year-to-date, the BMW Group is up 10.5 per cent on sales of 158,563 in the first six months of 2012 compared to 143,521 in the same period in 2011. The arrival of the new BMW 3-series with xDrive, as well as the BMW X1 in September is expected to give BMW sales in the US a strong boost in the second half of the year.

BMW: Worldwide sales of BMW brand vehicles climbed to 139,869 units (previous year: 134,444/ +4.0 per cent) in the month under review. A total of 747,064 BMW brand vehicles (previous year: 689,884) have been delivered to customers worldwide since the start of the year – an increase of +8.3 per cent. The BMW 1-series 5-door Hatch was one of the brand's growth drivers in the first half year with close to 90,000 units sold, an increase of 51.0 per cent over the same period last year (89,490/previous year: 59,249) The 3-door version of the BMW 1-series Hatch will be available as of September. The BMW 3-series Sedan reported healthy gains in the first six months with a total of 135,976 vehicles delivered to customers, an increase of 15.4 per cent compared to last year (previous year: 117,802). Demand for the BMW X3 remained strong, with sales climbing 38.4 per cent to 74,098 vehicles in the first half year (previous year: 53,520).

The BMW 6-series has also had an excellent customer response with over 10,000 vehicles sold in the first six months, an increase of 222.0 per cent over the same period last year (10,346/previous year: 3,213). Revised editions of the flagship BMW 7-series and BMW X1 will be launching in many markets across the globe in July and are expected to provide further momentum for BMW brand sales.

Mini: Worldwide sales for Mini climbed 3.9 per cent to 32,337 vehicles in the month under review (previous year: 31,112). Year-to-date, Mini sales are up +7.0 per cent to 151,875 units compared to 141,915 in the first six months of 2011. Demand for the Mini Countryman remained strong  with close to 50,000 cars delivered to customers in the first half year, an increase of +23.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2011 (49,588/previous year: 40,174). Mini saw robust growth in several Asian markets in the first half year, including Mainland China with 11,356 cars (previous year: 8,445/ +34.5 per cent) and Japan with 8,332 cars (previous year: 6,312/ +32 per cent). In the US, Mini experienced solid growth with sales up 7.5 per cent on volume of 32,059 compared to 29,816 in the first six months of 2011.

Rolls-Royce: Rolls-Royce continued the sustainable growth that was forecast at the beginning of 2012. At half-year, the manufacturer of super-luxury motor cars reported sales of 1,600 motor cars worldwide, which is slightly above the same period in 2011 (previous year: 1,592). Rolls-Royce looks forward to another record year, with production of Phantom Series-II starting in September and delivery to worldwide markets following shortly after.

Motorcycles: In the first six months of 2012, BMW Motorrad sold 59,189 vehicles, which was slightly below the same period last year (previous year: 60,580/ -2.3 per cent. In the month of June, 10,271 vehicles were sold (previous year: 11,831/ -13.2 per cent). BMW Motorrad is expecting stronger growth in the second half of 2012 and aims to achieve an overall sales record for the whole year. Husqvarna Motorcycles recorded a rise in deliveries for the sixth month in a row. Year-to-date, Husqvarna delivered 5,235 motorcycles (previous year: 3,530 units), an increase of +48.3 per cent. In June, 815 vehicles (previous year: 450 units) were delivered to the Husqvarna dealership network, +81.1 per cent more than in the same month of the previous year.

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