BMW sees record September despite Chinese headwinds

VEHICLE manufacturer BMW has announced its best-ever September sales – with the group making no mention of the emissions scandal that has rocked its German counterpart Volkswagen.

In fact the group is looking forward to even higher sales in the USA because of expanded production at its plant in South Carolina.

The group, which earlier this month completed a major upgrade to its engine plant at Hams Hall, said deliveries of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles totalled 215,413 for the month, an increase of 7.8% compared with the same period last year. It’s also been the company’s best ever first three quarters with year-to-date sales up 7.5% (1,644,810).
 
Ian Robertson, board member for sales and marketing, said: “Despite ongoing headwinds in certain markets, sales continue to grow steadily.

“We are seeing strong momentum in many European markets, while sales in much of Asia and the NAFTA (United States, Canada and Mexico) region are also moving positively. Going into the fourth quarter, the new BMW 7 Series and X1 are coming onto the market at the end of October and expanded production capacity in Spartanburg (USA) means we can get closer to reaching the very high demand for our larger BMW X vehicles, so we’re on track for another record sales result in 2015.”

Global sales of BMW brand vehicles climbed 7.7% to 180,475 vehicles last month, while deliveries in the first three quarters of the year rose 5.8% on last year with 1,395,780 vehicles sold.
 
The 2 Series range continued to grow steadily with the Active Tourer achieving monthly sales of 8,670 a year after it was launched. Sales of the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé almost doubled compared to September last year, with a total of 6,080 units, an increase of almost 91%.

Global deliveries of the BMW 5 Series rose 21 last month to 33,406, while the X3 climbed 13.8% to 13,808 units. The X6 more than doubled its sales with 4,002, an increase of 127.1%.

September was also a strong month for BMW i vehicles with 3,361 BMW i3s (+86.9%) delivered worldwide. Since the beginning of the year, 20,576 customers have taken delivery of a BMW i3 or i8, nearly twice as many as over the same period last year (+95.1%).
 
The MINI continues to grow its global sales, with 34,600 units delivered in September, an increase of 8.6% on the same month last year. The first nine months of the year have seen sales increase by 18.7% with a total of 246,426 cars sold worldwide.

Hopes are high this will continue, especially the new Clubman arrives in showrooms this month.

Sales of the MINI 3-door in the first nine months of the year have increased 13.8% compared to the same period last year, with a total of 94,830 delivered to customers. Around the world, 67,961 MINI 5-doors have been sold in the year-to-date.
 
Rolls-Royce saw its second-best ever sales performance for the first nine months of the year, despite significant headwinds in the luxury sector in Mainland China. The Goodwood-based brand delivered 2,604 cars to customers in the nine-month period from January to September (-8.9%). Outside China, globally-balanced sales were in line with expectations and the company continues to plan for long-term sustainable growth.

Click here to sign up to receive our new South West business news...
Close