BMW worldwide August sales up 2%

FRANKFURT, Germany– BMW’s sales in August increased 2% over the same period a year ago with the Mini and Rolls Royce brands the main contributors, the German carmaker said today.

August sales of BMW cars were flat versus a year ago, but Mini sales were up nearly 11%, while Rolls Royce car sales increased by 23% on the same month a year ago. Meanwhile, BMW motorcycles fell 9%.

For the first nine months, the group’s sales are up more than 4%, with BMW cars up 2.2%; Mini up 15% and Rolls Royce up more than 52%. Motorcycle sales continued to lag, down nearly 3% in the first nine months.

“The difficult economic conditions on the global automobile markets remain a major challenge,” said Ian Robertson, BMW AG’s sales and marketing manager, in a statement.

“However, the BMW Group was able to continue to grow during the month with a strong focus on high performing and profitable markets across the world.”

He said the company’s redesign of the BMW 3 series and the launch of the new BMW 7 series should contribute to sales over the next few months.

BMW said Asia saw a 32% increase in sales in August, eastern Europe a 19% increase, and North America a 1.7% increase. In western Europe, sales fell by 2.5% for the month.

Shares of BMW were trading down 2.4% at $39.19 in a broadly lower market.

Source : Freep