BMW group today in Munich posted its best sales result for any July. With 135,537 (2011 – 129,102) BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles delivered worldwide last month, the company increased its sales by 5.0% compared to the previous year.
It was also the first time in the company’s history that more than one million vehicles had been delivered in the first seven months. From January to July deliveries rose 7.6% to 1,036,088 vehicles (962,493).
In Europe, though, BMW Group sales declined in July with 60,855 units delivered (62,350 or -2.4%). In the first seven months, BMW Group sales were flat, with 497,932 vehicles delivered (499,749 or -0.4%) as the Eurozone crisis continues.
Group sales in the Americas grew by +3.4% in July, with 33,076 vehicles delivered (31,975). In the first seven months, 227,696 vehicles were delivered to customers in the Americas, which reflects an increase of +8% on the previous year of 210,876.
The BMW Group in the U.S. – BMW and Mini combined – reported July sales of 27,152 vehicles, an increase of 4.0% from the 26,120 vehicles sold in the same month a year ago. Year-to-date, the BMW Group is up 9.5% on sales of 185,715 in the first seven months of 2012 compared to 169,641 in the same period in 2011.The arrival of the new BMW 3 Series with xDrive, as well as the BMW X1 in September are expected to provide for increased U.S. sales in the second half of the year. BMW is lagging overall U.S. auto market growth of 9%, and is now just ahead of Daimler by 20,000 units ytd.
Several markets in Asia experienced strong double digit growth in July, including Japan (3,909/ +13.8%), Korea (3,164/ +27.8%) and China. Mainland China accounted for 23,092 deliveries in July, an increase of 22.5% over the same month in the previous year (18,858). Year-to-date, 182,048 BMW and Mini vehicles have been sold in Mainland China (40,472) which is an increase of 30% in the world’s largest auto market. The new BMW 3 Series Long Wheelbase and the BMW X1 are expected to provide for growth in China in the second half of the year.
“We are confident that the new BMW 7 Series and X1 which launch this month will provide for further success,” said Ian Robertson, the head of sales and marketing.
