BMW saw healthy growth in 2010 while its Mini brand managed to just squeak out growth. Companies that didn’t experience at least 6 percent growth in 2010 can consider themselves to have fallen behind the pack because 2009 was the worst year for car sales since 1982.
The BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and Mini combined) reported total sales of 265,757 vehicles, up 9.9 percent compared to the 241,727 vehicles sold in 2009. Mini had a good December with reported sales of 4,320 automobiles, an increase of 23.8 percent from the 3,489 in December 2009. Without those additional 831 extra vehicles, Mini would have fallen behind 2009 figures.
The BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and Mini combined) reported December sales of 27,600 vehicles, an increase of 16.9 percent from the 23,617 vehicles sold in the same month a year ago.
“As we’ve seen throughout the last six months of 2010, consumers in December clearly felt more confident about the future and showed it in their purchases.” said Jim O’Donnell, president and CEO of BMW of North America, in a news release. “We really like the momentum we’re getting as a result of this and along with our continual aggressive new model launches from BMW and MINI in 2011 we have real optimism we will continue growing our business with profitable sales in the new year.”
Worldwide the BMW Group (which also includes Rolls Royce) is also having a banner sales year. Year-end figures are not available, but through the end of November, the group was 13.9 percent ahead of 2010. A total of 1,319,827 vehicles were delivered to customers in the first 11 months, already exceeding the total sales volume for 2009 (1,286,310 units) by the end of November, according to BMW worldwide figures.
BMW Brand Sales
Sales of BMW brand vehicles increased 15.7 percent in December for a total of 23,280 compared to 20,128 vehicles sold in December, 2009. For the year, BMW brand sales were up 12.0 percent to 220,113 vehicles compared to 196,502 vehicles sold in 2009.
In December, best performing vehicles included the 5 Series, up 28.9 percent to 5,045 units; the 3 Series, up 12.3 percent to 10,067 units; the X5, up 12.1 percent to 3,939 units and the X6 up 52.8 percent to 859 units. Overall, the BMW SAV segment (X3, X5, X6) continued to show significant growth with sales up 26.9 percent for the year to 48,108 units compared to 37,925 in 2009.
MINI Brand Sales
Mini USA, making it the most successful December ever for Mini in the USA. For the year 2010, Mini reported sales of 45,644, an increase of 0.9 percent from the 45,225 sold in 2009.
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