BMW Group Sales Reach All-Time High in March

• Deliveries increase by 12% to 185,728 vehicles in March
• Best ever first quarter with 425,528 units sold
• Record sales in first quarter for all three brands

MUNICH, DE, April 11, 2012 /CNW/ - The BMW Group sold more vehicles in March than in any other month in its history. The company sold a total of 185.728 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles in the past month, not only significantly exceeding the figure for March of last year (165,846 units / +12%) but also the previous sales high of 165,855 vehicles recorded in June 2011. The company also achieved a new high for the first three months: Retail volumes for the year to the end of March increased by more than 40,000 vehicles to 425,528 units (prev. yr. 382,763 units), which represents a growth of 11.2% compared with the first quarter of 2011.

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Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management, Sales and Marketing BMW: "The BMW Group achieved an all-time high in sales last month and the best first quarter in its history. These outstanding results are due to our attractive, young model range and our strategy of healthy, balanced growth across the globe. We aim to continue the momentum with additional new models this year, such as the luxurious BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé and a model revision of the flagship BMW 7 Series."

The company plans to grow faster than the market as a whole in 2012 and expects to achieve new sales volume records for its BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands.

BMW: Sales reach record high in March

With sales of 153,004 vehicles (prev. yr.: 134,895 / +13.4%), more BMW brand vehicles were sold in a single month than ever before. Sales for the year to the end of March reached a record 356,548 vehicles (prev. yr. 321,180), an increase of 11.0% over the first three months of last year. All models performed well in March, including an excellent start for the new BMW 3 Series Sedan with 29,004 vehicles delivered (prev. yr. 24,331 / +19.2%). Strong gains were achieved by the BMW 1 Series 5-door Hatch with sales climbing +40.8% to 18,598 vehicles (prev. yr. 13,210) as well as for the BMW X3, with a +59.4% growth in sales and 14,847 vehicles delivered (prev. yr. 9,316). Growth in March was also driven by the brand's larger vehicles. Sales of the BMW X5 and X6 models continued to be strong with 9,496 (prev. yr. 7,932 / +19.7%) and 4,261 (prev. yr. 3,971 / +7.3%) vehicles sold respectively.

Sales of the BMW 6 Series increased nearly six fold compared to the same month last year with a total of 2,247 vehicles delivered to customers (prev. yr. 405 / +454.8%). The current BMW 7 Series reached a new milestone in March with a total of over 200,000 vehicles sold since its introduction at the end of 2008. This makes it the best performing BMW 7 Series ever, reaching around +20% higher sales than its predecessors in the same period of time. With 6,648 vehicles delivered in March, the flagship model achieved a 14.5% increase in sales (prev. yr. 5,804).

MINI brand: The success story continues

A total of 32,421 MINI brand vehicles were delivered worldwide to customers in March (prev. yr. 30,690 / +5.6%) and 68,210 (prev. yr. 60,860) vehicles were sold in the first quarter of 2012. This represents a sales increase of 12.1% compared with the first three months of last year and a new record in first quarter sales for the brand. Continued strong demand for the MINI Countryman contributed to the brand's positive performance in the first three months. With 22,001 vehicles delivered, sales climbed +36.8% over the same period last year (prev. yr. 16.079).

Rolls-Royce: Record sales in first quarter

Rolls-Royce continued its success with a record first quarter in sales. For the year to the end of March, the number of Rolls-Royce motor cars delivered climbed 6.5% to 770 (prev. yr. 723) vehicles.

Motorcycles: Best first quarter ever

BMW Motorcycles exceeded the previous year's figures in the first three months of the year, thus achieving the best first quarter result in its history. Sales rose +5.5% to 24,373 vehicles (prev. yr. 23,109). A total of 12,295 BMW motorcycles were delivered in March 2012 - an increase of 5.3% (prev. yr. 11,675). Husqvarna delivered 1,182 (prev. yr. 676 / +74.9%) motorcycles last month to its dealer network. Year to date, deliveries grew +36.2% to 2,642 motorcycles compared with the first three months of 2011 (prev. yr. 1,940).

Record first quarters in the U.S. and China; strong March in Germany

The BMW Group increased retail volumes in its three largest single markets of Germany, the U.S. and China, among others. In Germany the company reported a +11.6% increase (30,981 / prev. yr. 27,755) for BMW Group vehicle registrations in March. A total of 66,222 vehicles have been registered year-to-date in Germany, an increase of +2.0% over the first quarter in 2011 (prev. yr. 64,923). Record first quarters in both the U.S. and China contributed to the BMW Group's outstanding first quarter sales results. In the U.S., sales climbed +13% in March to 29,806 vehicles (prev. yr. 26,382). Year to date, 75,729 vehicles have been delivered in the U.S., an increase of +16.6% over the previous year (64,957). BMW Group sales in China remained high in the month under review - 30,593 (prev. yr. 21,687 /+41.1%) vehicles were delivered. From January to the end of March a total of 80,014 vehicles were delivered, an increase of 36.8% compared with the same period last year (prev. yr. 58,5 06).

BMW Group sales in/up to March 2012 at a glance

	In March 2012	Compared to previous year	Up to/incl. March 2012	Compared to previous year
BMW Group Automobiles	185,728	+12.0%	425,528	+11.2%
BMW	153,004	+13.4%	356,548	+11.0%
MINI	32,421	+5.6%	68,210	+12.1%
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars			770	+6.5%
BMW Motorcycles	12,295	+5.3%	24,373	+5.5%
Husqvarna Motorcycles	1,182	+74.9%	2,642	+36.2%

The BMW Group

The BMW Group is one of the most successful manufacturers of automobiles and motorcycles in the world with its BMW, MINI, Husqvarna Motorcycles and Rolls-Royce brands. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 25 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2011, the BMW Group sold about 1.67 million cars and more than 113,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2011 was euro 7.38 billion on revenues amounting to euro 68.82 billion. At 31 December 2011, the BMW Group had a workforce of approximately 100,000 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been built on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy. As a result of its efforts, the BMW Group has been ranked industry leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for the last seven years.

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