August 2011: BMW Group U.S. Sales Down 0.2 percent

The BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) reported August sales of 23,924 vehicles, a decrease of 0.2% from the 23,965 vehicles sold in the same month a year ago.

Year-to-date, BMW Group sales are up 14.6% to 193,565 in the first eight months of 2011 compared to 168,940 in the same period in 2010.

“This has been a very strange August for our industry with both difficult news and unfortunate events – consumer confidence down and an earthquake, hurricane and floods in the Northeast” said Jim O’Donnell, President and CEO, BMW of North America. “Through all of this, our BMW sales continue to increase and we are fortunate to have a number of new models for the remainder of the year including the new 528i with AWD, the all-new 6 Series Coupe including the 640 Coupe, Convertible and xDrive models and the new 4-cylinder Z4 sDrive28i.”

BMW Brand Sales
Sales of BMW brand vehicles increased 6.5% in August for a total of 20,815 compared to 19,540 vehicles sold in August, 2010.

Year-to-date, the BMW brand is up 12% on sales of 155,929 January through August compared to 139,236 sold in the first eight months of 2010.

In August, the BMW X3 SAV continued the strong sales success that began with its launch in January. Year-to-date, the new X3 has sold 17,314 compared with 4,890 in the same period of 2010, a 254% increase. The BMW SAV segment (X3, X5, X6) continues to show growth with sales up 41.3% from the previous August. The BMW 5 Series continues its very strong sales growth with August posting a 40.9% increase over August 2010. Year-to-date the 5 Series has sold 33,899 compared to 21,617 in the first eight months of 2010, a 56.8% increase.

BMW Pre-Owned Vehicles
In August, sales of BMW used vehicles (including certified pre-owned and pre-owned) totaled 13,335, a decrease of 6.5% from the 14,266 sold in August 2010.

Year-to-date, BMW used vehicle sales are down 6% on volume of 106,295 compared to 113,061 in the first eight months of 2010.

MINI Brand Sales
MINI USA reported sales of 3,109 automobiles in August. The August 2011 sales are down 29.7% from the 4,425 sold in August, 2010.

“Lack of inventory slowed MINI sales in August due to our annual model year change over in July,” said Jim McDowell, Vice President – MINI USA. “MINI has been fortunate to maintain a tight supply of inventory and many customers submitted specifications for custom MINIs in August so we are confident this will be reflected in September and October sales continuing our momentum this year.”

Year-to-date, MINI sales in the U.S. are up 26.7% on volume of 37,636 compared to 29,704 in the first eight months of 2010.

Table: Sales BMW of North America, LLC, August 2011

	August 2011	August 2010	%	YTD 2011	YTD 2010	%
BMW brand	20,815	19,540	6.5	155,929	139,236	12
BMW passenger cars	14,997	15,422	-2.8	112,626	108,985	3.3
BMW light trucks (SAVs)	5,818	4,118	41.3	43,303	30,251	43.1
MINI brand	3,109	4,425	-29.7	37,636	29,704	26.7
TOTAL Group	23,924	23,965	-0.2	193,565	168,940	14.6