MUNICH, September 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Sales increase by 14.8% to 139,648 vehicles last month

BMW brand sells over one million vehicles in first eight months

Robertson: Well on course to attain growth for the full year

BMW Group reported its highest ever sales for the month of August, with a total of 139,648 vehicles delivered worldwide, an increase of 14.8% over the same month last year (prev. yr. 121,628). Worldwide sales year-to-date also reached an all-time high with 1,246,528 vehicles sold, an increase of 7.7% over the same period in 2012 (1,157,807).

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"The BMW Group achieved an all-time high in sales for the month of August. For the very first time, we sold over one million BMW brand vehicles in the first eight months of the year. The company is well on course to attain growth in sales for the full year. Today we presented new models such as the BMW 4 Series Coupé and the third generation BMW X5, which will provide for additional momentum towards the end of the year," said Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Sales and Marketing BMW, at the 65^th International Motor Show in Frankfurt/Main.

In the month under review, worldwide sales of BMW brand vehicles climbed 15.6% to 118,743 units (prev. yr. 102,742). Strong growth was achieved in many model segments. Sales of the BMW 3 Series surged 38.6% to 34,943 units (prev. yr. 25,215). Demand for the BMW X3 remained high, with sales increasing 7.3% to 10,532 vehicles (prev. yr. 9,816). The BMW 5 Series continued its success story with 28,364 units sold last month (prev. yr. 23,341/ +21.5%). Upper segment BMW vehicles also performed well with 1,976 BMW 6 Series vehicles sold (prev. yr. 1,747/ +13.1%) and the company's flagship, the BMW 7 Series, was delivered to 4,764 customers (prev. yr. 3,787/ +25.8%). A total of 1,051,595 BMW brand vehicles (prev. yr. 963,141) have been delivered to customers worldwide since the start of the year - an increase of 9.2%.

MINI also reported its best August figures ever with 20,653 deliveries worldwide (prev. yr. 18,672/ +10.6%). Sales of the MINI Hatch climbed by 22.5% last month to 9,662 units (prev. yr. 7,886) and MINI Convertible deliveries increased by 8.2% to 1,548 cars (prev. yr. 1,431). The brand continued to record strong growth in Asia: Mainland China (2,460/ +31.1%) and South Korea (550/ +22.2%). Year-to-date, MINI worldwide sales are at around last year's level with 192,966 vehicles delivered to customers in the first eight months (prev. yr. 192,651/ +0.2%).

Demand for BMW Group vehicles was particularly high in Asia and the Americas, where the company achieved strong double-digit growth in the month under review.

In Asia, the company delivered 48,620 vehicles, an increase of 27.9% compared to August last year (38,002). Mainland China accounted for 34,166 deliveries, an increase of 34.6% on the previous year (25,377). Sales in South Korea climbed 37.7% to 3,810 vehicles (prev. yr. 2,766). Year to date, the BMW Group has sold 367,441 vehicles in Asia (prev. yr. 312,059/ +17.7%), including 249,160 units in Mainland China (prev. yr. 207,425/ +20.1%).

The company posted strong gains in the Americas last month with a total of 37,672 vehicles sold to customers, an increase of 29.3% on the previous year (29,142). In the U.S., a total of 30,546 BMW and MINI vehicles were delivered, an increase of 35.4% on August last year (22,553). From January through August, the BMW Group has sold 288,189 vehicles in the Americas (prev. yr. 256,838/ +12.2%), including 233,326 units in the U.S. (prev. yr. 208,268/ +12.0%).

In Europe, sales for the BMW Group were slightly lower than August last year, with 48,218 vehicles delivered (prev. yr. 49,354/ -2.3%). The company reported a total of 20,241 registrations in Germany, a plus of 12.8% compared to the previous year (17,952). The main growth driver was the BMW 3 Series. Year to date, company sales have remained stable in Europe with a total of 548,148 vehicles delivered to customers (prev. yr. 547,378/ +0.1%). In Germany, 180,262 BMW Group vehicles were registered from January through August (prev. yr. 185,849/ -3.0%).

BMW Motorrad achieved an all-time high for August with sales climbing 4.2% to 7,708 vehicles delivered (prev. yr. 7,400). Year-to-date, BMW Motorrad has sold 83,890 vehicles, an increase of 9.3% on the same period in the previous year (76,729).

BMW Group sales in/up to August 2013 at a glance

                                           Comp. to                   Comp. to
                             In August     previous    Up to/incl.    previous
                                  2013         year   August 2013         year

    BMW Group Automobiles      139,648       +14.8%     1,246,528        +7.7%
    BMW                        118,743       +15.6%     1,051,595        +9.2%
    MINI                        20,653       +10.6%       192,966        +0.2%
    BMW Motorrad                 7,708        +4.2%        83,890        +9.3%

The BMW Group

The BMW Group is the leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles in the world with its BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 28 production and assembly facilities in 13 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2012, the BMW Group sold about 1.85 million cars and more than 117,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2012 was euro 7.82 billion on revenues amounting to euro 76.85 billion. At 31 December 2012, the BMW Group had a workforce of 105,876 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 eight years.

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Corporate Communications

Linda Croissant, Business and Finance Communications
Linda.Croissant@bmw.de
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Mathias Schmidt, Business and Finance Communications
Mathias.M.Schmidt@bmw.de
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SOURCE BMW Group