From BMW Group Press:
Record sales levels were achieved for the MINI brand, both in the first quarter 2005 and monthly. In March, the 20,000 mark was passed for the first time in a single month, with 22,130 vehicles sold (previous year: 19,740/+12.1%). The convertible variant, with 5,389 units sold, accounts for about a quarter of the total sales volume. omparing sales by country, the MINI home country – the United Kingdom – is still the undisputed leader, with 7,244 MINI cars sold in March, followed by the U.S. (4,127), Germany (2,755), Italy (2,004) and Japan (1,621).
This success is of course in starck contrast to Rover’s recent news. For those curious, current parent company BMW had another banner quarter as well:
The BMW Group increased its sales in the first quarter of 2005 by 8.2 percent to a new high of 292,207 automobiles (previous year: 269,974). The BMW brand deliveries to customers in the first three months rose by 7.8 percent to 239.387 vehicles (previous year: 222,087). MINI recorded an increase of 10.3 percent to 52,694 units (previous year: 47,774). Rolls-Royce Motor Cars delivered 126 Phantoms to customers (previous year: 139/-9.4 percent).
Germany and the USA were neck and neck in the first quarter, with 65,680 (previous year: 60,462/+8.6 percent) and 65,536 (previous year: 61,241/+7.0 percent) cars sold respectively. Examples of countries with well above average growth are Portugal with a rise of 43.9 percent to 1,973 units (previous year: 1,371), Russia at 44.4 percent (1,350/previous year: 935) and the African/Caribbean region with a rise of 22.6 percent (6,965/previous year: 5,680).
Dr. Michael Ganal, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Sales and Marketing, said: “All over the world, the BMW Group has developed far better in the first quarter than its relevant competitors. This means that we have further expanded our position in the premium segment. We achieved this improvement even though the BMW 3 Series is in the model changeover phase.”
The BMW Group has also achieved a record volume on a monthly basis. March 2005 was the best-ever sales month for the BMW Group, with 127,093 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce cars sold. This is a rise of 7.9 percent over the same month last year (117,826).
The BMW brand increased sales in March by 7 percent to 104,909 vehicles (previous year: 98,037) – which is also a new high. The entire model range was responsible for this success.
Since the world launch of the new BMW 3 Series Sedan on March 5, 6,444 units have already been delivered. The BMW 3 Series is the world’s best-selling premium automobile of its class. All the indications are that the new 3 Series Sedan will help to consolidate this position still further. The BMW Series is due to go on sale in the U.S. on May 7.
<p>Was there any data specific to Canadian sales? I can’t ever seem to find that current info anywhere. I would love to know where to find the 2005 monthly sales breakdown for Canada.</p>
<p>J</p>
<p>That is quite a difference between the UK and the US. When I was at the Oxford plant last summer, they mentioned that they thought the US sales would exceed the UK sales by 10%.</p>
<p>With that said, if you think you see a lot of Minis where you live, YOU HAVEN’T. Go to the UK, they are on every street corner. The UK gets almost 25% of all the Minis in the world and it is lucky if it is even 8% the size of the US, they are all over the place. Not very unique over there.</p>
<p>I’d like to know MINI sales per capita. Its all fine and dandy to list units sold per country, but I want to know in which countries MINI is strongest.</p>
<p>Who loves MINI the most? ;)</p>
<p>Do these numbers exclude the counterfeit MINIs?;-)</p>
<p>UK sales in March are inflated due to the 6 monthly change in registration plates. Buyers over here hold off purchases to get the new “05” plate rather than the “54” plate which ran from September to February. A normal month of Mini sales will be just slightly above the number sold in the U.S.</p>
<p>Ian – maybe you could explain something that has always confounded me. Why do Brits cherish certain numbers on their plates? Is it purely cosmetic?</p>
<p>Gabe,
The “05” instead of “54” business is because the license plate indicates when the car was registered – so it is a big advert of how wealthy you are that you can afford a new(er) car.</p>
<p>The other license plate cherishing is because there are no real “vanity plates” in England, so some people will buy a plate that looks like a word, within the letter/number format restriction (I once had “C150 OTY” and my Dad called the car Sooty =50OTY).</p>
<p>Since about 1962 British licence plates have had a letter, or now a number, to show the age of the car. Because of that, people use the plate to know how old the car is. Most Brits don’t even know that car manufacturers have “model years”.</p>
<p>So, waiting for a new plate effectively makes buyers think of your car as being 6 months newer when you come to resell it (they now change every 6 months – it used to be every year). I guess in the US people might hold off to wait for the new model year instead?</p>
<p>And there is the “advert of wealth” thing too.</p>
<p>I also think at one time cherished numbers were used to disguise the age of a vehicle, particularly when a model range ran mostly unchanged for 8-10 years. This doesn’t apply so much now as it is rare for a car to go without a complete redesign after 5-6 years.</p>
<p>Please provide information re a source for a British license plate for our ’03!
We love our “Mini” and want to make sure character is preserved with the appropriate (front) plate. My wife and I live in Chattanooga, TN, ergo, the need for “local” sourcing, if, possible.</p>
<p>Thumbs-up!</p>
<p>Jim Stewart</p>