Official Release: BMW Group sales recorded solid growth once again in May. With 166,397 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce automobiles delivered worldwide (prev. yr. 156,954/ +6.0%), the BMW Group achieved its best-ever May sales result. A total of 770,025 (prev. yr. 728,038/ +5.8%) vehicles have been delivered to customers since the start of the year, the highest sales figures ever for the company in the first five months of the year.
Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management, Sales and Marketing BMW, said in Munich on Monday, “Our vehicle portfolio continues to be in strong demand and once again our sales volume rose to an all-time high last month. We could offset the headwinds in Europe through solid gains in other markets such as the U.S., China, Japan and Russia. We expect further successful months ahead, assisted by the launch of exceptional new products such as the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo on the 15th June and the newly modified BMW 5 Series in July.”
Worldwide sales of BMW brand vehicles climbed 7.8% to 139,161 units (prev. yr. 129,141) in the month under review. Demand for the BMW X1 remains strong with 14,718 vehicles delivered in May, an increase of 29.3% over the same month last year (11,380). The BMW 3 Series continued to report healthy gains in May with a total of 41,811 vehicles delivered to customers, an increase of 27.5% compared to last year (prev. yr. 32,785). All in all, the sixth generation of the BMW 3 Series has been delivered to over 400,000 customers since its launch at the start of 2012. Sales of the BMW X3 continued to climb with 14,199 units sold in May, an increase of 13.0% over the previous year (12,564). Growth was also driven by the BMW 6 Series which was delivered to 2,391 customers worldwide last month (prev. yr. 2,011/ +18.9%). A total of 651,168 BMW brand vehicles (prev. yr. 607,210) have been delivered to customers worldwide since the start of the year – an increase of +7.2%.
MINI achieved a new milestone in the past month by reaching a total of more than 2.5 million deliveries to customers since its relaunch under the BMW Group in 2001. Nearly 3,000 MINI Paceman vehicles, the latest addition to the MINI family, have been sold since its launch in mid-March this year. Worldwide sales for MINI were slightly down last month with 26,955 cars delivered (prev. yr 27,533/ -2.1%). Year-to-date, MINI worldwide sales are at around last year’s level with 117,694 units sold in the first five months (119,538/ -1.5%).
BMW Motorrad had a successful May with sales climbing 14.2% to 13,081 vehicles (prev. yr. 11,457). In the first five months of 2013, BMW Motorrad increased sales by 7.1% to 52,400 (prev. yr. 48,918) vehicles.
The BMW Group made double-digit gains in many markets in the month under review.
In Asia a total of 46,838 vehicles were delivered (prev. yr. 41,289/ +13.4%). Healthy gains were reported in Japan (4,810/ +16.2%) and South Korea (3,340/ +11.3%). Mainland China accounted for 31,938 deliveries, an increase of 14.8% over the same month last year (prev. yr. 27,815). Year-to-date, 148,319 BMW and MINI vehicles have been sold in Mainland China (prev. yr. 135,026/ +9.8%).
Gains were solid across America with 38,771 vehicles delivered in May (prev. yr. 35,127/ +10.4%). The U.S. contributed to this growth with 31,174 deliveries, an increase of +10.1% over the same month last year (prev. yr. 28,321). A total of 139,142 BMW and MINI vehicles have been sold in the U.S. since the beginning of the year (prev. yr. 130,843/ +6.3%)
In Europe, sales remained at the previous year’s level in May with 74,918 units sold (prev. yr. 75,371/ -0.6%). Russia continued to experience robust growth with sales increasing 19.9% to 3,891 units (prev. yr. 3,244). Year to date, BMW Group sales in Europe have climbed 2.2% to a total of 352,013 vehicles (prev. yr. 344,395).