65,085 cars already delivered in the months to FebruaryMunich. BMW Group sales are continuing to grow. In February, the number of automobiles delivered rose by 7% to 83,228 (previous year: 77,775). Year-to-date, the volume of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles sold increased by 8.5% to 165,085 (previous year: 152,174).The USA remains the highest market and sales in the first two months of the new year show an increase of 15.6% to 41,260 automobiles sold (previous year: 35,696). In Germany, the number of cars delivered year to date rose by 8% to 37,771 units (previous year: 34,964). Amongst the major markets, Spain is noticeable, with an unusually high growth of 32.4% to 8,684 automobiles delivered (previous year: 6,561). Sales prospects remain positive for the rest of the year: in its entire history, the BMW Group has never been able to offer its customers such a broad product portfolio as it can now. In addition, the company has the youngest range of automobiles in the industry. The new BMW 3 Series sedan arrived in the dealers' showrooms last weekend. It will help to maintain the sales momentum through the further course of the year. As far as the BMW brand is concerned, the number of vehicles handed over to customers rose in February by 7.3% to 69,632 (previous year: 64,888). Year-to-date, sales totalled 34,459 BMW cars (previous year: 124,050/+8.4%). A particularly pleasing fact is that the youngest model series in the BMW Group, the BMW 1 Series, is still attracting an excellent market response. In February, sales reached 10,267 units. This indicates that since the market launch just under six months ago in September 2004, nearly 60,000 (58,925) of this premium product in the compact class have found a buyer. Five years after its launch, sales of the MINI brand continue to grow. In the first two months of 2005, sales are up 9% to 30,554 units (previous year: 28,034). The product mix and level of equipment remain at a high level: the best-seller is the MINI Cooper, with 45% of sales (13,828), followed by the basic MINI One at 30% (9,253). The top-of-the-range MINI Cooper S accounts for 25% of sales (7,473). The average selling price across all variants is around € 21,000, including options and value-added tax. Rolls-Royce delivered 40 Phantoms to customers in February. This means that year-to-date sales reached 72 units. Motorcycle segment increases by 40% in February The motorcycle segment recorded a rise of 40% in February with 5,777 vehicles delivered to customers (previous year: 4,125). Year-to-date, sales reached 9,455 units, the equivalent of a growth rate of 31% (previous year: 7,218). The product offensive in the motorcycle business is thus being impressively reflected in sales. The best-seller, with 3,284 motorcycles sold through February, is the Enduro R 1200 GS. The new K 1200 S sports motorcycle recorded 650 units sold in the period up to the end of February. |