BMW US Sales Go Down 15 Percent

The BMW Group US January sales report saw a decrease of 15.5 percent compared to the same month in 2008. A total of 14,314 vehicles were sold, as opposed the 16,935 units sold last year, including both BMW and Mini brands.

Sales of Sports Activity vehicles however increased by 3.3 percent. The SAVs are a segment that has seen increases in sales for the last month for other dealers too. For BMW, SAVs reached 3,535 units, up from 3,422 sold a year ago. The Mini brand reported a 15.4 percent drop, selling only 2,082 units over the past month.Sales of BMW's Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) vehicles are up 36.8 percent, to 10,007 CPO vehicles versus 7,313 vehicles reported last January.

"We're in a definite 'toughing it out' mode and this has aided improving our market share this month," Jim O'Donnell, President of BMW of North America, LL said. "Showroom traffic is down but our internet vehicle configuration and early dealer website contact is above last year at this time, so we may be seeing early signs of stimulus expectation."

"Considering this, being15 percent down was not a roaring start to the year but one we'll take as it still keeps us ahead of overall market momentum," said O'Donnell. BMW sales could be get an unexpected boost from the recent announcement that BMW's 335d and X5 xDrive35d will be subject to a federal vehicle credit tax of up to $1,800.