BMW Group Sales Still Down, But Slower

The economic crisis is still alive and kicking, but not as much as it did a few months ago. The recovery trend has been seen by all manufacturer as they reported still negativ sales figures, yet improved when compared with the previous months.

BMW reported it has sold a total of 109,042 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles in May, representing a decrease in sales of 18.3 percent. In the first five months of the year, the group sold 487,906 units, 21.1 percent lower than in the same period of 2008.

“Sales decreased much more slowly in May than in recent months. Overall, I am cautiously optimistic that our global sales figures will continue to improve over the course of the year,” Ian Robertson sales and marketing representative for the group said.

Taken one by one, BMW brands had mixed results. The BMW Z4 has been delivered to 2,365 customers since its launch on 9 May, while the 7 Series maintained its growing trend and sold 3,370 units, 1.5 percent more than last year.

MINI sales were 19.2 percent lower than in May 2008, totaling 18,348 units. By comparing the first five months of 2008 and 2009, MINI recorded a 22.6 percent drop, standing at 79,260 units sold.

The Rolls-Royce brand reported a the steepest decline in sales, 53.6 percent (51 units compared to 110 in May 2008). For the year to the end of May, 276 vehicles were delivered, down 27.6 percent from 2008. Rolls hopes the new Ghost will save the year.

"The response to the new model has been extremely positive. Over the medium term, we aim to use this model series to double our overall Rolls-Royce sales volume to more than 2,000 units per year,” Robertson added.