BMW Group Sales for September Increase by 11.4%

The BMW Group continued its successful course in September with another record month in sales. With 159,214 (prev. yr. 142,953) BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand automobiles delivered worldwide, sales were 11.4% higher than in the same month last year.

It was also the most successful third quarter for the company ever, with sales reaching 399.218 vehicles from July through September, an increase of 9.0% over 2010. Furthermore, it has been the best first nine months for the company, with sales up 16.0% compared to the same period last year. A total of 1,232,584 BMW Group vehicles were delivered during this time (prev. yr. 1,062,209).

Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Sales and Marketing: “We made solid gains right across the globe and once again achieved record sales for September which contributed to a record third quarter. At the end of the third quarter we find ourselves well on course to deliver our target of more than 1.6 million vehicles in 2011 and to remain the clear number one among premium manufacturers once again this year. Throughout the fourth quarter we will continue to strive for a worldwide balanced growth and to continue our upward trend. We have exceptional new products such as the new BMW 1 Series and the MINI Coupé, which are already in strong demand and which will provide further momentum.”

The BMW brand reported worldwide sales of 128,446 vehicles in the month under review – exceeding last September’s figure (117,471) by 9.3%. The strongest gains were made once again by the BMW X3, with sales of 11.345 vehicles in September – an increase of 260.6% (prev. yr. 3,146). The BMW X1 also continues to perform strongly, with a total of more than 200,000 units delivered since its market launch nearly two years ago. 12,535 of these were sold in September, an increase of 24.7% over last year (prev. yr. 10,051). The BMW 5 Series remains the clear segment leader with strong sales once again in September – 27,811 vehicles were delivered which was an increase of 29.7% compared to last year (prev. yr. 21,445). The BMW 7 Series also achieved impressive growth of 15.1% (6,321 vehicles / prev. yr. 5,491) in September. Year-to-date, the brand BMW has delivered 1,021,927 vehicles, an increase of 14.5% over the previous year (892,729 vehicles).

Robertson: “A real highlight this autumn will be the new BMW 1 Series, which hit the market in Europe last month. We delivered well over one million units of the first generation BMW 1 Series, which far exceeded our expectations. Orders for the new model already look very promising and I am confident that the new model will continue this success story.”

The MINI brand experienced a strong growth of +20.5% in worldwide sales in September. With 30,387 (prev. yr. 25,221) deliveries, the brand reported its best September result ever. A major contributor was the new MINI Countryman which launched just over a year ago and has already been received by over 76,000 customers. In the period up to and including September, MINI crossed the 200.000 mark with an increase of 24.1% in worldwide sales (208,216 / prev. yr. 167,752). The brand new MINI Coupé will hit the market this month in October and is expected to provide further momentum for the brand.

In the month under review, the BMW Group increased retail volumes in its three largest single markets of Germany, the U.S. and China, among others. In Germany the company reported a 9.9% increase (23,809 / prev. yr. 21,658) in vehicle registrations. BMW reported an 8.8% increase in registrations to 20,051 vehicles (prev. yr. 18,424) and MINI showed robust growth of 16.2% with 3,758 vehicles registered (prev. yr. 3,234). A total of 220,064 (prev. yr. 194,940 / +12.9%) BMW Group vehicles have been sold year-to-date and the company continues to spearhead the German premium market. Strong growth was reported in the U.S., where the company sold 25,749 vehicles, which was 11.4% more than the 23,112 deliveries in September 2010. A total of 219,314 (prev. yr. 192,052 / +14.2%) BMW and MINI vehicles were delivered to customers in the United States in the year to the end of September. With a 20.9% increase in volumes, China’s growth rate remained high in the month under review – 18,588 (prev. yr. 15,379) vehicles were sold in the BMW Group’s third-largest market. From January to September a total of 177,522 vehicles were delivered, an increase of 45.7% compared with the same period last year (prev. yr. 121,826). The BMW Group also continued to achieve impressive growth in September in dynamic young markets such as Brazil (1,700 vehicles / +80.3%) Russia (2,683 vehicles / +33.2%) and India (972 vehicles / +41.5%).

Rolls-Royce sales are also maintaining strong momentum. Between January and September a total of 2,441 (prev. yr. 1,728 / +41.3%) motor cars were delivered to their new owners. There has been strong demand for both Phantom and Ghost models.

BMW Motorrad continued its growth path and with sales of 8,612 motorcycles (prev. yr. 8,066 / +6.8%) also reported a record September in worldwide sales. From January to September sales increased by 6.6% to 86,892 motorcycles (prev. yr. 81,508). BMW Motorrad clearly performed well in the challenging market environment for > 500 cm3. For the whole year, BMW Motorrad is aiming for a new sales record.

Husqvarna Motorcycles delivered 6,080 motorcycles in the first nine months of 2011 (prev. yr. 7,260 /-16.3%). September accounted for 1,351 deliveries (prev. yr. 1,282 /+5.4%).

BMW Group sales in/up to September 2011 at a glance
Please note: Rolls-Royce YTD sales figures will be included in the sales releases on a quarterly basis.