The September sales numbers are in and once again it ‘s a mixed bag for BMW. The recently refreshed 3 Series and 5 Series are down 17% and 22% respectively. Yes BMW ‘s core products are down for the second month after a complete redesign. Is it a lack of incentives or something bigger? We ‘d guess it ‘s mostly the former but we ‘re not entirely sure if BMW ‘s new pricing strategy hasn ‘t moved MSRPs up a little too far for the current economic climate.

But all is not bad news. The X1 has debuted and immediately sold over 1,500 units – effectively selling out. But crucially that hasn ‘t hurt other BMW Group SAVs. Both the X3 and the MINI Countryman sales are also both up around 65%.

Finally it ‘s nice to see the Z4 sales up. While we called the steering wanting in the standard model (the IS notwithstanding) it ‘s an exceptional car that deserves second looks from shoppers.

Official Release: The BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) reported September sales of 26,660 vehicles, an increase of 3.5 percent from the 25,749 vehicles sold in the same month a year ago. Year-to-date, BMW Group is up 7.1 percent on sales of 234,928 in the first nine months of 2012 compared to 219,314 in the same period in 2011.

“The economic indicators and consumer confidence are showing improvement and the traffic in our showrooms is further encouraging our optimism for the fourth quarter of the year as the BMW new model ramp-up continues”, said Ludwig Willisch, President and CEO, BMW of North America, LLC. “The X1 in its first full month is largely sold out and MINI set another sales record; both are strong indicators of what’s to come.”

BMW Brand Sales

Sales of BMW brand vehicles increased 0.1 percent in September for a total of 21,761 compared to 21,750 vehicles sold in September, 2011. Year-to-date, the BMW brand is up 4.9 percent on sales of 186,397 compared to 177,679 sold in the first nine months of 2011.

In September, the X1 SAV in its first full sales month, sold 1,570 units. Other best performing vehicles for the month include the 6 Series, up 80.2 percent to 609 units; and the X3 SAV, up 63.7 percent to 3,034 units.

BMW Pre-Owned Vehicles

In September, sales of BMW used vehicles (including certified pre-owned and pre-owned) increased 3.8 percent to 13,624 vehicles from the 13,129 vehicles sold in September 2011. January through September, BMW used vehicle sales are up 2.6 percent on volume of 122,575 compared to 119,424 in the same period of 2011.

MINI Brand Sales

MINI USA reported the best September ever with sales of 4,899 automobiles, an increase of 22.5 percent from the 3,999 sold in September, 2011. Year-to-date, MINI sales in the U.S. are up 16.6 percent on volume of 48,531 compared to 41,635 in the first nine months of 2011.