BMW reports record sales as luxury car demand rises
German automotive manufacturer BMW has said worldwide sales rose 14% to 1.67 million vehicles in 2011, spurred by strong demand from China and the United States
BMW expects the global market for luxury vehicles to grow 8% in 2012. The announcement came at the opening of the Detroit Motor Show, the industry’s gala event, and in the wake of confirmation that Rolls-Royce had posted the most successful 12-month sales period in its 107-year history.
Speaking in Detroit, BMW sales executive Ian Robertson said: “2011 was an excellent year for the BMW Group. We have clearly attained our sales target of more than 1.6 million vehicles and our models continue to be in high demand right across the world.” Mr Robertson added that BMW planned to remain the world’s largest premium carmaker in 2012. According to BMW’s results, Rolls-Royce was the strongest performer, with starting prices of between £200,000 and £300,000, as sales rose 30.5%. The Mini saw sales rise by 21.7%, followed by a 12.8% jump for the BMW series, which accounts for more than eight out of 10 cars sold by the company.
“Looking ahead, we want to continue to grow, with balanced sales growth across all continents, and we plan to remain the world's top-selling premium automaker in 2012,” said Mr Robertson, who said growth would be driven by the launch of the new BMW 3 Series next month. One in three cars sold by BMW come from the 3 series family, with the new model at the vanguard of BMW’s competitive battle with arch-rivals Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen-owned Audi.
