“We remain firmly on track, achieving our best figures to date in terms of sales volume, revenues and earnings.”
The BMW Group revenues at €23.9 billion and sales volume were strong in Q2, with the Group profit before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the six-month period exceeding €5 billion for the first time. Worldwide sales of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles between April and June increased by 7.5% to 573,079 units (2014: 533,187), setting a new record for the second quarter.
Q2 EBIT amounted to €2,525 million (2014: € 2,603 million; -3.0%), while the profit before tax (EBT) came in at €2,582 million, slightly below the €2,654 million reported one year earlier (-2.7%). In the second quarter of 2014, the BMW Group achieved its best-ever pre-tax profit to date.
Higher personnel costs, increased expenditure on new product start-ups and a change in the model mix with a higher proportion of compact vehicles were the main reasons for a slight decline in the profits below the previous year’s record level.
“We remain firmly on track, achieving our best figures to date in terms of sales volume, revenues and earnings,” commented Harald Krüger, the Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG on Tuesday in Munich. “We remain committed to achieving an evenly balanced distribution of worldwide sales and maintaining the flexibility to react appropriately to developments on individual markets.”
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
