BMW’s new 5-series and the Mini Countryman, both introduced last year, led the way in boosting the German carmaker’s 2010 profits.
Net income last year surged more than 15-fold to EUR3.2bn euros (US$4.47bn) from EUR210m (US$289m) a year earlier.
The 5-series posted a 36% increase in sales, fuelled to some extend by the availability of a long wheelbase version for China. The Countryman sold more than 14,000 units since its introduction in September while the X1 compact SUV sold more than 100,000 units in its first full year.
BMW is targeting record deliveries of more than 1.5m vehicles this year, looking at increased demand for the revamped X3 SUV and 6-series coupe.
The company reported that fourth quarter net income rose to EUR1.2bn (US$1.65bn) from EUR163m (US$224.7m) a year earlier as sales climbed 16% to EUR16.8bn(US$23bn).
BMW also made significant cuts last year, shedding 800 jobs on early retirement, buyouts and natural attrition. It currently employs almost 95,500 people and plans to hire some 1,300 people this year to support development, purchasing and sales.
The company aims to sell more than 2m cars and SUVs annually by 2020 across all its brands, BMW, Rolls-Royce and Mini. It has also just created the ‘i’ electric car sub brand, which will start in 2013 with the i3, a battery-powered city car previously known as the Megacity Vehicle.
The company is also planning the i8, a hybrid supercar based on the Vision Efficient Dynamics concept.