BMW Group sales up 20% in nine months

With a 20% increase in sales in the first nine months of this year, the BMW Group is maintaining its high growth rate, the company said in a statement last week. Altogether, 805,800 BMW and MINI brand automobiles were delivered to customers up to the end of last month (2001: 671,850). Compared to the same month last year (75,400), sales last month actually rose by 28% to 96,500 units.

Sales of the BMW brand rose 5% to 700,950 cars in the first nine months of the year (2001: 667,150). In September, there was a 12% increase in sales of the BMW brand to 79,700 vehicles sold (September, 2001: 71,250).

The success of the MINI brand also continued unabated. Up to the end of September, 104,900 MINIs were sold. This means that the sales figure of 100,000 units originally planned for the whole year has already been passed at the end of the third quarter.

In Britain, 26,800 MINIs were sold in the first three quarters of the year; 17,250 in Germany; 15,760 in the United States; and 12,860 in Italy. The highest level of MINI sales by far in a month was recorded in September, with 16,800 vehicles delivered to customers worldwide.

In the Western European markets, Britain comes top in terms of growth after nine months compared with the same period last year, with a 48% increase to 97,200 BMW and MINI vehicles sold (2001: 65,600).

Other countries in Western Europe have also recorded growth rates in double figures: particularly, Italy, with a rise of 33% to 47,500 units (35,600), Spain +29% to 28,900 (22,450); and France +26% to 32,900 (26,100).

In the US, growth to end September was 17%, corresponding to 187,150 automobiles supplied to customers (160,500). Canada increased by 31% to 12,500 units (9,550).

Above-average growth rates were once again recorded in the Asian markets: In South Korea, the increase in sales in the first three quarters was 76% to 3,700 vehicles (2,100), China (including Hong Kong) recorded a rise of 42% to 6,600 units (4,660) and Taiwan showed sales of 4,400 automobiles (+17%/3,770). In Japan, 23% more cars (32,900) were delivered to customers in the period under review (2001: 26,800).

The BMW motorcycles segment increased the delivery of its two-wheelers by over 6% to 83,450 units in the period up to and including September (2001: 78,400).