BMW Group U.S. reports strongest year ever

The BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI brands combined) on January 3 reported its best-ever annual sales of 313,603 vehicles, an increase of 2.1 percent above the 307,020 vehicles sold in 2005. December sales of 33,417, an all-time monthly high, were up 16 percent over the 28,900 vehicles reported in the last month of 2005.

BMW Brand Sales
BMW brand sales were up 3 percent year-to-date, to 274,432 vehicles compared to 266,200 vehicles sold during 2005.

BMW brand sales jumped 17 percent in December for a total of 30,945 vehicles, compared to 26,464 reported in the same month a year ago.

"New products across a broad range of the BMW brand offerings fueled the record increase in sales," said Tom Purves, chairman and CEO of BMW Holding Corp.

BMW models introduced this year include the 3 Series Coupe, the X3 and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles, several new M brand models and the new Z4 Coupe.

BMW Automobile Sales
Calendar year sales of BMW brand automobiles were up 9.4 percent, to 216,343 automobiles over 197,833 in the same period of 2005. Monthly automobile sales increased 20 percent in December to 24,535 cars versus 20,510 in the same month a year ago.

BMW Sports Activity Vehicle Sales
Sales of BMW Sports Activity Vehicles were up 7.7 percent for the month to 6,410 vehicles over the 5,954 sold in the same month last year. Annual sales of BMW Sports Activity Vehicles were down 15 percent, to 58,089 vehicles compared to the 68,367 sold in the same period in 2005. The all-new 2007 BMW X5 went on sale November 24th, and the sales numbers reflect the inventory levels associated with the model changeover.

MINI Sales
MINI USA reported a 1.5 percent increase in December sales, to 2,472 cars compared to 2,436 cars sold in the same period a year ago. The division reported annual sales of 39,171 automobiles, a drop of 4 percent, compared to the 40,820 cars reported in 2005, reflecting factory shutdowns for production upgrades and model changeovers.