Η BMW η premium μάρκα με τις μεγαλύτερες πωλήσεις μέσα στο 2011

“2011 was an unprecedented year in the history of Audi: Never before have we gained so many new customers in a single year,” declared Peter Schwarzenbauer, AUDI AG Board Member for Marketing and Sales. “With our new models in very high demand, business proved better than expected, specifically in Europe and the United States. In the U.S. market we established new sales records in every single month and achieved another clear improvement in our financial result – mainly thanks to the very successful drive in the full-size category.”

Since the market launch of the new-generation A8 and A6 and of the A7 Sportback, more than one in four U.S. customers have opted for a full-size model. Within one year, Audi has thus increased the U.S. sales share of the top-end car lines by more than half. Across all models, Audi sold 117,561 automobiles in the United States last year, a further advance of 15.7 percent on the 2010 figure.

Worldwide, too, the full-size models were instrumental in driving Audi’s growth: Even before the appearance of the new-generation A6 in China, the sedan model’s biggest market, global sales of this car line rose by 12.2 percent to around 229,200 vehicles. The new A6 sedan appeared in its first markets in March, with the Avant, which is especially popular in Europe, following only in the fall. By contrast the A7 Sportback has now been on the market for its first full year, attracting over 31,300 customers worldwide. The brand with the four rings also increased its presence in the full-size category with the Q7, with sales up 21.4 percent on the previous year. Launched at the start of 2010, the brand’s flagship A8 model actually doubled its volume (+101 percent).

At the other end of the model range the Audi A1 brought additional customers into dealerships: In its first full year on sale, Audi delivered around 118,200 of its premium compact car, mainly to customers in Europe. Overall, AUDI AG clearly bucked the market trend in that region with sales climbing 12.2 percent to around 726,300 cars, further bolstering its position as the leading premium brand.

After China, the home market Germany brought the Ingolstadt company its highest growth in absolute terms. 254,011 new cars were handed over to Audi customers in 2011, 10.8 percent more than in 2010. The past year was also particularly successful for Audi in the United Kingdom and France: Unit sales in the UK gained 15.7 percent to 115,345, and Audi France sold 62,009 vehicles, a rise of 18.1 percent, taking it past the 60,000 mark for the first time. Moreover, despite the difficult market conditions Audi at least matched the previous year’s deliveries totals in Spain (+3.4 percent) and Italy (+0.03 percent). In all its other top-ten markets worldwide, the Company achieved a double-digit sales increase on 2010, with Russia, too, performing much more strongly than in the previous year with 25.6 percent growth and unit sales of 23,250 making it the growth leader in Eastern Europe.

Audi’s growth of 37.3 percent in China was attributable both to the surge in demand for the brand’s imported models and to the completion of the Changchun plant’s expansion mid-way through the year, creating extra production capacity. Audi sold 313,036 autos to Chinese customers in 2011, enabling the brand with the four rings to substantially increase its lead in the premium segment yet again.

Emerging growth markets such as South Korea (+30.9% to 10,346 cars) and South Africa (+20.4% to 14,523) have also continued to gain in importance for Audi over the past few months. These two markets combined now account for as many unit sales as the brand achieves in Russia. In South America, Mexico (+46.8%) and Brazil (+68.0%) stood out for their particularly high growth rates in 2011. Audi’s growth in India was even steeper: Sales there soared by 83.5 percent to 5,511 cars, the highest growth rate of any premium brand in the market.

Market overview

• 1,668,982 BMW Group vehicles sold
• Record year for all three brands

Munich. The BMW Group concluded 2011 with its best sales result ever. Worldwide sales of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce automobiles rose 14.2% last year to reach a total of 1,668,982 vehicles (prev. yr. 1,461,166). The company therefore strengthened its position as the leading provider of premium vehicles. In December, sales were 11.9% higher than in the same month last year with 158,125 vehicles (prev. yr. 141,358).

“2011 was an excellent year for the BMW Group. We have clearly attained our sales target of over 1.6 million vehicles and our models continue to be in high demand right across the world,” said Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Sales and Marketing, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. “Looking ahead, we want to continue to grow, with balanced sales growth across all continents, and we plan to remain the world’s top selling premium automaker in 2012. Growth will also be driven by the new BMW 3 Series which will be launched worldwide next month. This is the best BMW 3 Series sedan we have ever built and we are confident it will continue this model’s success story. Due to the BMW 3 Series model changeover, we expect to see momentum increase in the second half of the year.”

BMW brand: New models drive sales. BMW 5 Series clear segment leader.

BMW brand sales rose 12.8% in 2011 to reach a total of 1,380,384 vehicles, the best sales level in its history (prev. yr. 1,224,280). In December, a total of 128,182 vehicles were delivered – an increase of 10.9% (prev. yr. 115,570). The clear frontrunner in terms of growth was the new BMW X3. With 117,944 vehicles sold, this highly-successful model grew at a rate of 156.4% (prev. yr. 46,004) in 2011. The BMW X1 also continued to report strong gains in 2011 with a total of 126,429 vehicles sold (+26.4%; prev. yr. 99,990). The BMW 5 Series solidified its position as segment leader, with a total of 310,050 vehicles delivered to customers in 2011 (+46.3%; prev. yr. 211,968).

The flagship BMW 7 Series also continued to perform well, with deliveries reaching 68,774 vehicles last year (+4.5%; prev. yr. 65,814). Customer response to the newly introduced BMW 1 Series has also been very positive. Sales of the 5-door rose 42.6% in December to 12,507 units (prev. yr. 8,769).

MINI brand: New sales record

The MINI brand can also look back on its best year ever. Global sales climbed to a record 285,060 vehicles in 2011 (+21.7%; prev. yr. 234,175). It finished on a strong note in December with 29,467 vehicles sold (+16.2%; prev. yr. 25,359). The brand’s positive annual result was bolstered by the MINI Countryman, which totalled 89.036 deliveries in its first full year of sales. Further momentum is expected in 2012 with the new additions to the MINI family: the MINI Coupé and the MINI Roadster. The U.S. remains the largest market for MINI, with 57,511 cars sold last year, followed by the U.K. with 50,428).

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars: record sales in company’s 107-year history

With a total of 3,538 cars, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars achieved its highest sales ever in 2011 and an increase of 30.5% on the 2010 total of 2711 cars. The previous record of 3,347 cars was set in 1978. All regions reported significant sales growth last year with bespoke content at highest-ever levels.

Markets: Balanced growth across the globe

The BMW Group made sales gains in all regions and virtually all markets in 2011. In Europe, the region with the Group’s highest sales, retail volumes increased 8.5% to reach a total of 857,792 units (prev. yr. 790,751). The company experienced rigorous growth in Asia, with 373,613 vehicles sold (+31.1%; prev. yr. 285,003). In America, a total of 379,332 vehicles were delivered to customers last year, an increase of 15.3% (prev. yr. 328,860). The U.S. was the company’s largest single market in 2011, with a total of 305,418 vehicles sold (+14.9% / prev. yr. 265,757). BMW was the number one premium brand in the U.S. last year, with 247,907 cars delivered to customers.

In Germany, the company finished the year on a strong note – the number of new BMW Group vehicles registered in December rose by 16% to 27,377 (prev. yr. 23,601). With a total of 297,483 new vehicles registered in 2011 – (+11.5% / prev. yr. 266,768) – the company spearheads the German premium auto segment. BMW brand registrations climbed to 257,132 units in 2011 (+9.3%/prev. yr. 235,299). A total of 23,507 new BMW vehicles were registered in December (+12.4%/prev. yr. 20,910). The MINI brand also reported an excellent month with an increase of 43.8% to 3,870 vehicles (prev. yr. 2,691). China’s dynamic sales growth continued right through to the end of 2011 – 232,586 BMW Group vehicles were sold last year in the company’s third largest market. This was an increase of 37.6% (prev. yr. 168,998).

BMW Motorrad reports best sales ever

With a total of 104,286 motorcycles (prev. yr. 98,047 / +6.4%) in 2011, BMW Motorrad delivered more vehicles than ever before in its nearly 90-year history. Growth was recorded in each month of 2011. In December, 4,232 Motorcycles were delivered worldwide, which reflects an increase of 12.4% over the same month in 2010. The total year’s result exceeds the previous high in 2007 by 1.8% (102,467). BMW Motorrad increased its market share by more than 12% in the segment above 500cc and has doubled it within the past four years. Husqvarna delivered 9,286 motorcycles in 2011 (-23%; prev. yr. 12,066). December accounted for 1,330 deliveries (-26.1%; 1,800).

BMW Group sales in/up to December 2011 at a glance

The BMW Group

The BMW Group is one of the most successful manufacturers of automobiles and motorcycles in the world with its BMW, MINI, Husqvarna Motorcycles and Rolls-Royce brands. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 25 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

During the financial year 2010, the BMW Group sold 1.46 million cars and more than 110,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for 2010 was euro 4.8 billion on revenues amounting to euro 60.5 billion. At 31 December 2010, the BMW Group had a workforce of approximately 95,500 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been built on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy. As a result of its efforts, the BMW Group has been ranked industry leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for the last seven years.