BMW Group posts another major sales increase in April
09.05.2011
- BMW Group deliveries 17.9% higher in April
- BMW Group sales increase in almost all markets and regions
Munich. The BMW Group reported strong sales growth once again in April. A total of 137,183 BMW, MINI and Rolls Royce brand vehicles were delivered to customers (prev. yr. 116,386/ +17.9%). For the year to the end of April, the BMW Group achieved a new sales high of 519,944 vehicles (prev. yr.: 432,016) – an increase of 20.4%.
Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Sales and Marketing: “In April, our positive market development continued with a strong gain of nearly 18 per cent. We continued our balanced growth worldwide with an increase in sales across almost all regions and markets. Germany, the United States and China remain our three largest markets. But we also saw impressive growth in the dynamic young markets of Brazil, Russia, India, Korea and Turkey – the so-called BRIKT-countries.” Robertson continues:”We are on our way to achieve a 2011 sales volume of well over 1.5 million units, a new all-time high, with the BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands all achieving new sales volume records.”
BMW brand volumes increased by 14.8% in April to 113,078 vehicles (prev. yr. 98,488). As of April 2011, sales of BMW brand vehicles were 19.2% higher than the previous year at 434,257 units (364,307).
The new BMW X3 continued to show strong growth. In April, sales surged 140% to 9,902 units (prev. yr. 4,126). The other BMW X models are also performing extremely well. High rates of growth were reported by the BMW X1 with a total of 10,846 vehicles delivered to customers in April (+34.3%). Sales of the large-size BMW X5 / X6 models climbed 12.7% year-on-year (11,730/prev. yr.: 10,406). The X models therefore account for 28.7% of the BMW brand’s product range. Demand for the new BMW 5 Series remains strong. With total sales of 24,944 vehicles in April (+98.5%) the BMW 5 Series is the clear leader in its segment.
The MINI brand also had a very successful month. Sales climbed to 23,839 vehicles (prev. yr. 17,719) – an increase of 34.5% over the same period last year. In China (1,400/ +89.2%), South Korea (300/ +130.8%) and Russia (165/ +283.7%) sales growth was in the three-digit percentage range. The number of MINI models through April this year rose to 84,698 (prev. yr. 67,251/ +25.9%) vehicles.
The Rolls-Royce brand also continues on its growth course. By the end of April of this year, the company increased sales to 989 vehicles (prev. yr. 458/ +115.9%). 266 automobiles were presented to customers in the month under review (prev. yr. 179/ +48.6%).
The BMW Group made strong retail gains in almost all markets in April. In Europe, sales increased by 7.5% to 69,398 units (prev. yr. 64,578). In the German market, 25,639 (prev.yr. 25,580/ +0.2%) vehicles of the BMW Group were registered. The BMW 5 Series and the BMW 7 Series lead their segments after this year’s first four months. More encouraging news from the German market came from our brands’ excellent ranking in the latest breakdown statistics from the automobile association, ADAC: The BMW X3, BMW 1 Series and MINI all took first place in their class, with top-three slots for the BMW 5 Series and the BMW 3 Series. With these results, the BMW Group performed better than any other manufacturer in Germany. Sales continued to grow dynamically across the American continent (31,491 units/ +18.0%). The U.S. is the BMW Group’s largest single market, accounting for 18.4% of sales (25,247 vehicles in April). The Asian markets also continued to grow in the month under review (31,803 units/ +54.2%): Some 20,800 customers purchased a new BMW or MINI model (prev. yr. 12,440 units/ +67.2%) in China (Mainland) alone.
_______________________________________________
Mercedes-Benz Gets Off to a Successful Start in Second Quarter, with Sales Up 8.2 Percent
Stuttgart, May 04, 2011
- Dr. Joachim Schmidt: “Our sales figures in April marked a successful start into the second quarter and increased significantly in many markets. China, where we set a new sales record in April, continues to play an important role in driving our growth.”
- “We are optimistic about the second quarter and want to boost sales above last year’s level. In the full year, we aim to achieve a new sales record and want to sell more than 1.3 million Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and smart fortwo.”
- New generation of the C-Class sedan becomes market leader right from the start, sales of new SLK increase by 47.7 percent
- S-Class sedan number one in its segment with sales up by 34.3 percent
- smart sales again above previous year’s level
Stuttgart - Following strong sales results in the first quarter, Mercedes-Benz continued to be successful in April. Sales rose by 8.2 percent compared to the high volume recorded in the same month last year. The brand delivered a total of 100,703 passenger cars worldwide (April 2010: 93,077). Since the start of the year, sales have risen by 11.5 percent to 381,255 units (Jan. – April 2010: 342,035).
Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing Mercedes-Benz Cars: “Our sales figures in April marked a successful start into the second quarter and increased significantly in many markets. China, where we set a new sales record in April, continues to play an important role in driving our growth. We continue to be optimistic about the second quarter, during which we want to boost sales above last year’s level.”
Growth in the second quarter will be based on the success of the current product range and particularly on new products such as the facelifted C-Class and the new SLK. Demand for both models was already very high in the first month after the market launch. 20.965 units of the C-Class sedan were delivered, capturing the market leadership in its segment right from the start. Including the new estate, sales in April rose 14.3 percent compared to April 2010. In the first month following its market launch, sales of the new SLK also climbed sharply, starting the convertible season with an increase of 47.7 percent. The new C-Class coupe is waiting in the starting blocks to continue the success of the new C-Class generation. It will be in dealers’ showrooms beginning in June. Mercedes-Benz will introduce additional new models to the market later this year: the new M-Class and the SLS roadster, which will hit showrooms this fall, and the new B-Class, which will be launched at the end of the year.
“This attractive product lineup gives us a very good competitive position,” added Schmidt. “In the full year, we aim to achieve a new sales record and want to sell more than 1.3 million Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and smart fortwo.”
In April, sales of Mercedes-Benz in China (including Hong Kong) rose by 46.9 percent compared to the high volume recorded in the same month last year. As a result, the brand achieved a new record result of 16,536 units (April 2010: 11,254). During the first four months of the year, sales jumped by 68.2 percent to 59,526 passenger cars (Jan. – April 2010: 35,381). In April, sales also rose substantially in South Korea (plus 56.6 percent) and Taiwan (plus 19.7 percent). In India (plus 61.3 percent) and Russia (plus 59.5 percent) Mercedes-Benz achieved a new record.
A total of 18,042 units (April 2010: 17,628) were sold in the U.S. last month, an increase of 2.3 percent on the result posted in April 2010. Since January, deliveries totaled 71,388 units (Jan. – April 2010: 66,857), an increase of 6.8 percent on the same period last year.
In Germany, demand rose 3.3 percent in April to 22,270 units (April 2010: 21,551). Mercedes-Benz thus remained the strongest premium brand in its home market. Sales were also above last year’s level for the first four months, totaling 71,588 units (Jan. – April 2010: 70,796). In Western Europe, Mercedes-Benz grew by 2.2 percent overall, delivering 46,817 cars to customers (April 2010: 45,801). Growth rates were recorded, for example, in France (plus 8.9 percent), Spain (plus 4.4 percent), Belgium (plus 11.6 percent), and Sweden (plus 19.6 percent).
In the luxury class, the S-Class sedan once again set the benchmark for its segment in April. At 6,305 units, sales were up by 34.3 percent, making it the number one car in its competitive class. Mercedes-Benz also continues to grow in the E-Class segment, with customer deliveries rising by 8.1 percent to 28,708 vehicles. The new E-Class convertible was particularly popular last month (plus 84.7 percent) and remained the market leader. The new CLS which is available since January has also been on track for success, with sales rising by 70.4 percent compared to April 2010. Demand also continued to be dynamic for all Mercedes-Benz SUVs, with sales increasing to the record figure of 19.640 units (plus 21.4 percent). One of the reasons for this success were strong growth rates for the GLK (plus 62.1 percent). In the compact car segment the B-Class continued to increase sales in April (plus 26.2 percent).
Sales of the smart fortwo continued to develop positively in April and totaled 9,341 units last month, representing a 3.2 percent increase on the previous year (April 2010: 9,053). During the year to date, sales of the two-seater have risen by 7.9 percent to 34,322 vehicles (Jan. – April 2010: 31,806). Demand for the smart continues to be strong in China (including Hong Kong), where sales rose almost five-fold in April, to 1,026 units (April 2010: 210). In Germany, the two-seater was at the top of its segment in April for the 14th consecutive month.
_______________________________________________
AUDI AG: Sales growth in every region
May 9, 2011
AUDI AG is continuing its strong sales growth: the Company sold some 109,400 vehicles worldwide in April – a year-on-year increase of 13.2 percent. During the first four months of this year, customers took delivery of around 422,000 units – 17.0 percent more than during the comparable period in 2010. In Germany, Audi even surpassed its first quarter growth rate with an increase of 16.1 percent in April. Sales also rose once again in Europe as a whole, propelled by particularly impressive growth of 30.1 percent in Eastern Europe. Strong growth in India helped set new records in the Asia-Pacific region.
“Audi clearly continues to grow worldwide. The current order position means we’re well on our way to our target of selling 1.2 million vehicles this year,” says Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management for Marketing and Sales at AUDI AG. As for the brand’s luxury class initiative, he adds: “We expect to be boosted once more by the recent market launch of the A7 Sportback in the United States. Over its life-cycle, we hope to sell around 25 percent of all A7 Sportbacks to U.S. customers.”
Even before the A7 Sportback and the new A6 Sedan had reached dealerships in many key markets, Audi increased luxury class sales significantly during the last four months. Worldwide growth in this class amounted to 20.6 percent. Deliveries of the Audi Q7 luxury SUV rose by an impressive 48.1 percent. The Audi A8 also notched up robust figures: in Western Europe alone, some 3,400 customers opted for the top model from January through April. The A8 further improved its position in Germany as well, with 1,780 registrations.
In addition to the A8, substantial April growth rates in Germany can be attributed primarily to the Audi A1 and the successful roll-out of the new A6 Sedan: Deliveries of 22,204 vehicles in Germany represented a year-on-year increase of 16.1 percent. High double-digit rates of growth were also reported by many European export markets. In particular, Audi sold 5,535 automobiles in France (up 20.5 percent) and 2,821 units in Russia (up 36.1 percent). In Europe as a whole, the brand boosted sales in April by 10.1 percent to some 63,650 automobiles; from January through April, approximately 250,150 deliveries equated to a year-on-year increase of
13.6 percent.
The Ingolstadt-based manufacturer also stayed on course for growth in the USA. With 10,018 vehicles delivered and growth of 7.5 percent, April proved to be the strongest sales month thus far in 2011. Thanks to year-on-year growth of 16.0 percent for April in Canada, North American sales figures for the first four months of the year amounted to some 43,500 automobiles, an increase of 17.0 percent compared to one year ago.
In April, Audi’s most important sales market was once again China. Sales figures in the Middle Kingdom grew by 21.2 percent compared to 2010 for a total of 23,766 units. Audi thus sold 87,888 vehicles in China in four months – a year-on-year increase of 23.7 percent. Last but not least, the Indian market is playing an increasingly dynamic role in the Asia-Pacific region. Audi India delivered 1,986 premium vehicles to customers during the first four months of 2011 – twice as many as just one year ago.
.
