Worldwide BMW Sales Down 25% in November

The BMW Group delivered 1,323,572 (prev.yr.: 1,347,957 / -1.8%) BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand automobiles to customers between January and November 2008. The BMW Group was able to expand its market position in the premium segment over the first eleven months of the year, despite the downward trend. As the market downturn resulting from the global financial and economic crisis grew worse, sales in November decreased by 25.4% (96,570 units / prev.yr.: 129,459).

Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Sales and Marketing: “Global automotive market demand fell once again in November. However, during the period to the end of November the BMW Group performed better than the overall premium segment and has increased its market share in the segment. In addition two of our three premium brands – MINI and Rolls-Royce – continue their growth over the 2007 sales results. The MINI brand is still the world’s fastest-growing premium brand.”

BMW recorded a 26.2% decrease in deliveries (81,357 / prev.yr.: 110,246) in November. Nonetheless, the market launch of the new BMW 7 Series, which has been available since mid-November, was a major success: In the first two weeks of sales, 677 vehicles were delivered. Ian Robertson: “The new 7 Series raises the bar in the luxury automobile segment. Customers and automobile experts alike have been impressed by the BMW 730d’s class beating fuel consumption of just 7.2 Liter/100 km.” Five years after its market launch, the hundred thousandth BMW 6 Series was also delivered in November. For the year to the end of November global sales of BMW brand vehicles totalled 1,105,112 units (-3.5% / prev.yr.: 1,145,061).

Faced with ongoing consumer reticence in key sales markets, the MINI brand also delivered 20.8% fewer vehicles in the month under review than the previous year (15,103 / prev.yr.: 19,078). This is mainly due to the model change in the MINI Convertible, which ceased production in August. In November 2007, 1,829 units of the MINI Convertible had been delivered. The new MINI Convertible will be launched in late March 2009. Preparations for the production change-over at the MINI plant in Oxford are well advanced. However, in November, MINI was still ahead of the field in the United States, where the brand climbed 43.1% to reach a total of 4,545 (prev.yr.: 3,177) vehicles sold. Globally, MINI grew 7.6% between January and November 2008 compared to the previous year to 217,405 (prev.yr.: 202,075) cars.

Rolls-Royce sales figures were 18.5% lower (110 vehicles / prev.yr.: 135) in November. However, for the year to the end of November, sales of Rolls-Royce motor cars made substantial gains. In the first eleven months of the year 1,055 vehicles were delivered (+28.5% / prev.yr.: 821), thus already exceeding the record 1,010 deliveries achieved in 2007.

Market conditions also remain challenging for the Motorcycle segment. Deliveries in November were 3.5% lower than the previous year (prev.yr.: 5,980) at 5,773 units. 94,237 motorcycles were delivered to customers (prev.yr.: 95,663 / -1.5%) in the period to the end of November.