The BMW Group’s record-breaking sales growth of last year continued in January 2014 with deliveries increasing by 7.8%. In the first month of the year, a total of 132,892 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles were delivered to customers (prev. yr. 123,302).
"This is a positive start, building on last year's success," said Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Sales and Marketing BMW. "Looking ahead, although the economic climate remains challenging in many markets, there are signs of improvement and we are aiming for continued growth in 2014. We are launching some very exciting new models over the next few months and our target is to increase overall global sales for a fourth successive year," Robertson added.
BMW reported its best ever January: 117,164 BMW brand vehicles were delivered to customers, an increase of 9.2% (prev. yr. 107,302). Strong demand for the BMW 3 Series Sedan continues with 22,451 models delivered, an increase of 4.6% (prev. yr. 21,457). Sales of the BMW X3 saw significant growth of 18.2% to 12,095 units (prev. yr. 10,231) and the newly launched BMW 4 Series is proving popular with 4,046 4 Series Coupés delivered to customers in January. The BMW 5 Series was a significant growth driver with a total of 27,974 delivered worldwide (prev. yr. 24,529 / +14.0%). The BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé was also in high demand, with 993 deliveries in the first month of the year (prev. yr. 725 / +37.0%).
Despite the upcoming model change, MINI sales remained stable with 15,510 models (prev. yr.15,864 / -2.2%) delivered worldwide in January. Sales of the MINI Clubman increased 18.9% to 1,247 (prev. yr. 1,049) and the MINI Countryman continues to be in strong demand with 6,425 models delivered since the start of the year (prev. yr. 6,259 / +2.7%). The new MINI model is expected to bring further momentum to sales as of spring.
Following the strategy of balanced sales across the globe, the BMW Group maintained or increased sales in almost all sales regions. Deliveries of BMW and MINI models in Asia topped 50,000 for the first time in January with 50,841 deliveries (prev. yr. 43,114 / +17.9%). Deliveries in Mainland China were up 22.2% (37,137, prev. yr. 30,397) and South Korea also saw significant growth with deliveries up 24.0% (3,460, prev. yr. 2,790).
In the Americas, a total of 25,977 BMW and MINI vehicles were delivered to customers (prev. yr. 25,021 / +3.8%), with sales in the USA up 3.0% (20,796, prev. yr. 20,195). Sales in Brazil increased an impressive 32.4% (961, prev. yr. 726) and deliveries in Mexico increased by 26.4% (1,212, prev. yr. 959).
Despite continuing headwinds in Europe, BMW and MINI sales increased slightly, with 51,319 deliveries (prev. yr. 50,617 / +1.4%). Significant double-digit growth of 32.4% was recorded in the Netherlands (1,639, prev. yr. 1,238) and sales in Scandinavia also grew strongly with 2,959 automobile deliveries in January (prev. yr. 2,382 / +24.2%).
BMW Motorrad sales increased 12.9% year-on-year with a total of 5,438 motorcycles delivered to customers in January (prev. yr. 4,818).
