BMW reportedly boosted global group car sales by 10% in January as its ambitious new model offensive continued to pay off, especially in the key US and German markets.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Reuters said sales of the core BMW brand gained 9.5% to 64,785 units, while deliveries of the Mini compact advanced 11.9% to 16,987 units. The BMW numbers were flattered by interrupted production at a Munich plant a year earlier, the news agency noted.
Rolls-Royce delivered 32 Phantoms in January, a decline of 36%, Reuters added.
The new agency said the Munich-based company has forecast another year of record sales for all three brands in 2005, driven mainly by the launch of its revamped best-selling 3-series sedan next month.
“We have set high targets for 2005. The figures we have produced in January show that we have made a good start,” Michael Ganal, BMW’s head of sales and marketing, reportedly said.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataTogether with the expected 120,000 to 150,000 units in added sales from its new 1-series hatchback, entering its first full production year after its premiere last September, BMW stands a good chance of unseating Mercedes-Benz as the world’s most popular premium brand and Mercedes does not seem to be putting up much of a fight, Reuters said.
On Friday, the luxury arm of DaimlerChrysler reportedly said sales of its flagship brand dropped 12.1% to 61,300 cars in January, but has also forecast sales would pick up as new models arrive.
Reuters noted that BMW’s arch-rival blamed last month’s weak figure in part on a delay in deliveries caused by faulty diesel fuel-injection pumps from Bosch, which were also supplied to BMW, and added that both BMW and Mercedes have announced temporary unscheduled production stops this week as a result.
Overall, the Mercedes Car Group, which includes the Smart line of compacts and the super-luxury Maybach marque, recorded a 6.4% decline in January deliveries to 71,900 units, Reuters said.
BMW group sales already edged out Mercedes group sales in 2004 by some 8,232 units, after posting a 9.4% rise in deliveries to nearly 1.21 million vehicles, the report added.
Boosted by its largest-ever model offensive, BMW expects record 2004 earnings on a 6.8% rise in group revenue, Reuters said.
