BMW Group Press Release: The BMW Group increased sales of its BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands by 4.7% in the period from January through June to reach a total of 764,874 automobiles (prev.yr.: 730,285). This made the first half-year of 2008 the most successful in the history of the BMW Group in terms of sales.
Nevertheless, the company was not entirely able to avoid the difficult economic trends in important individual markets such as the USA and Japan. As such, global sales slipped 2.8% in the month of June to 146,138 units (prev.yr. 150,308).
BMW Group USA total sales are down for the year to date 3.9% and down 11% for the month when compared to 2007.
BMW sales are down a staggering 17% for June and 9% for the year to date. MINI continues to reap the benefits of US consumers awakening to high fuel prices with an increase in sales of 24.8% for June and 33.6% for the year to date compared to 2007.
BMW NA Press Release: The BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) today reported June vehicle sales of 26,155, a decline of 11 percent from the 29,394 vehicles sold in the same month of 2007. For the first six months of 2008, BMW Group sales are down 3.9 percent to 157,913 vehicles versus the 164,338 sold in the first half of 2007.
We have been hearing for the past several days that deliveries for 2009 3 series cars are being moved back until October 13th. The original info we had received was for European Delivery cars but what we are hearing now is that it is across the board. All 3ers are affected and not just the E90. This has to do with EPA requirements for re-certification.
Production of German made cars will begin in September; October for Roslyn builds.
Also, worth noting is that with the option of the front park distance control on the E90 it will need to be re-crash certified as well. There are other rumors circulating as to the reasons for this and as always we will bring you the facts as soon as we can! At this time we are also not sure if other models are affected.
We just obtained the ordering guides from a source and are needless to say a bit disappointed. There is no mention of the 335d, E92/93, the 1er or any of the SAVs. This may just be a preliminary guide to be further updated later on but something just does not seem “right” about this. We expect things to change but for now this is what we have. Note these are indeed dated last week.
While the models we mentioned here the other day will see those changes, there is little in these documents that mention any other changes excluding “615 Online Information Services”, which could translate to a variety of things, including Connected Drive.
BMW Press Release: The BMW Group will be investing over a billion US dollars in the USA by the year 2012. The company is thus underlining its long-term commitment to the largest automobile market in the world.
BMW’s US headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey is being expanded at a cost of 100 million US dollars. On 12 June 2008, Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management of the BMW Group responsible for Sales and Marketing, and Tom Purves, President of BMW of North America, opened the new buildings for the US sales region, which also include facilities for engineering operations and training. A workforce of around 1,000 will be working at the extended site.
BMW marketing is at it again; teasing us with something like dangling a carrot in front of a rabbit. I am fairly sure what this teaser is for but let’s see with you are astute readers come up with…
BMW Group Press Release: For the first time over 600,000 cars delivered by end of May BMW X6 off to a strong start
Munich. The BMW Group increased its automobile sales once again in May. 133,496 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles were delivered to customers (prev.yr.: 128,434) in the month under review. This represents a gain of 3.9%. For the year to May, sales climbed 6.7% to reach a total of 618,731 vehicles (prev.yr.: 579,745). This is the first time in the company’s history that more than 600,000 vehicles have already been sold by the end of May.
BMW brand grows by 2.0%
For the BMW brand, deliveries rose 2.0% to 110,704 automobiles (prev.yr.: 108,515) in May. 515,989 units were sold for the year to the end of May. That represents an increase of 4.4% over the same period last year (494,417). Once again the main growth drivers were models of the BMW 1 Series which recorded sales of 22,090 vehicles (prev.yr.: 10,932 / +102.1%) in the past month; the BMW 5 Series Touring models with sales of 4,505 (+9.7% / prev.yr.: 4,105); and the BMW X5 models with 10,275 (+2.9% / prev.yr.: 9,981) units sold.
BMW NA Press Release: The BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) today reported May vehicle sales of 31,781, an increase of 3.1 percent from the 30,819 vehicles sold in the same month of 2007. For the first five months of 2008, BMW Group sales are down 2.4 percent, to 131,758 vehicles versus the 134,944 sold January through May of 2007.
BMW Brand Sales
BMW brand sales were down 4.6 percent, to 25,469 vehicles compared to 26,689 vehicles sold in May 2007. Year-to-date, BMW reported sales of 110,569 vehicles compared to the 119,359 reported in the same period a year ago, a decline of 7.4 percent.
Ever wonder how long you have to change your mind about a color or option? Maybe you will be stuck with it or maybe not. BMW uses specialized internal status codes to describe where in the production sequence a particular vehicle is. Depending on when you ordered the car and where the allocation slot was you usually have some time to make adjustments to the order.
Your CA can access the status of the order through the BMW computer system. You may also track your order through the BMW phone number and online via the website (these options are not as accurate). Once a car reaches status 112 you have a very brief time frame to make any necessary changes. If you have any doubts about the makeup of your order it is best to make the changes as soon as possible because once production has started you have no ability to change the car! Here is a list that helps sort out the codes:
As many of you, our readers, are in the process of negotiating purchases or leases we thought you might be interested in the real numbers. These are the “buy” rates for the lease programs offered through BMWFS. The dealer has the ability to mark up the money factor (interest charge) but they can not adjust the residual value. The residuals have come down about 2-5% since last months figures. (Compliments of LeaseCompare.com)
BMWFS May 2008 Leases
We will try to post these on a regular basis.
Just in hot off the presses. BMW has announced price increases.
Base prices and packages will see increases depending on the model of car. The models released this calendar year will not see base increases (1,//M3, X6) but will see packaging increases. So for all those that wondered why the 1 was so closely priced to the 3, you now have your answer: BMW built the increase in already!
BMW reported April sales today. For the month sales were up when compared to last April but for the year sales are still down as a whole.
BMW GROUP REPORTS APRIL SALES
BMW Group (BMW and MINI combined) US sales up 9.6 percent in April. Year-to-date sales are down 4 percent.
Woodcliff Lake, NJ – May 1, 2008… The BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) today reported April vehicle sales of 31,448, an increase of 9.6 percent from the 28,692 vehicles sold in the same month of 2007. For the first four months of 2008, BMW Group sales are still down 4.0 percent, to 99,977 vehicles versus the 104,125 sold January through April of 2007.
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We believe in the old school BMW ownership experience. We believe in garage nights with a six pack and some friends. We believe in 2002s, in E30 M3s and E34 540s with the 6 speed. We believe in progress in both design and engineering but we haven't lost sight of what made the brand and its products great all those years ago. And yes, we believe in the manual transmission.
We long for the days of the wave and for the days of roll-up windows. Yet we love the gadgets on the inside and the xenons on the outside.
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Sections: Official News, Sales/Marketing Jul 8th, 2008 2 Comments 
