[Mark]

BIMMERPOST NEWS

BMW Group sales record breaking in 2014

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Record worldwide sales: up 7.9% with a total of 2,117,965 deliveries
Best ever year for BMW, BMW Motorrad and Rolls-Royce
MINI sales up 20.7% in December – a new record for the month
Robertson: New models and balanced global growth key to success
BMW i sales around 17,800; Krüger: BMW i8 production increased


Munich. The BMW Group delivered more than two million vehicles to customers in 2014, the company’s fourth record year in a row. A total of 2,117,965 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles were sold, more than ever before in the Group’s history (prev. yr. 1,963,798 / +7.9%). All of the company’s brands finished the year strongly with sales in December up 15.2% - a total of 215,217 vehicles were delivered in the last month of the year (prev. yr. 186,786).

Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Sales and Marketing BMW said, “I am delighted that we achieved our target of selling more than two million vehicles in 2014, a new record for the BMW Group. We have seen good growth throughout the year, well spread across all major sales regions. Our new models such as the BMW X4 and BMW 2 Series Active Tourer demonstrate our ability to develop new vehicles which attract new customers to the brand. The popularity of the BMW i3 and BMW i8 shows our game-changing ‘born electric’ strategy is on track. We are now looking forward to building on these successes in 2015.”

2014 was the best year ever for the BMW brand. Deliveries of BMW vehicles totalled 1,811,719, an increase of 9.5% on the previous year (1,655,138). Sales in December also achieved a new high, up 14.2% on the same month last year (177,954 / prev. yr. 155,835).

In its first full year on the market, the BMW 2 Series Coupé has been delivered to a total of 27,933 customers while 13,091 customers have taken delivery of the 2 Series Active Tourer during the three months it has been on sale. Sales of the segment-leading BMW 3 Series were up on last year, totalling 476,792 (prev. yr. 467,672 / +2.0%). Deliveries of the BMW 4 Series models totalled 119,580 in 2014. The BMW 5 Series, which also leads it segment globally, saw sales increase 1.7% this year, with a total of 373,053 delivered to customers worldwide (prev. yr. 366,992). The BMW X4, which went on sale in July, has been delivered to 21,688 customers while the new third-generation of the BMW X5 has increased sales by 37.4% compared to last year (147,381 / prev. yr. 107,231).

Around 17,800 customers have taken delivery of an innovative BMW i vehicle in 2014. Global deliveries of the BMW i3 total 16,052; nearly three-quarters of those sales occurred in the second half of the year, following the vehicle’s late-spring market launch in several major markets including the USA. The keys to a total of 1,741 BMW i8s have been handed over to customers since it went on sale in the summer.

Due to the success of the BMW i vehicles, their production continues to ramp up. Harald Krüger, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Production said, “Our production lines in Leipzig are highly flexible and we have switched more production to the i8 to reduce customer waiting times to a better level. Meanwhile, more than 100 BMW i3’s leave the plant each day. The BMW Group is the first automotive company to manufacture using significant quantities of carbon fibre in series production and the success of these cars speaks for itself.”

Despite the change in the core MINI model this year, annual sales remained around last year’s record level with a total of 302,183 vehicles delivered to customers (prev. yr. 305,030 / -1.0%). Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for MINI, BMW Motorrad and Rolls-Royce was particularly pleased with how the year ended for the brand. “MINI saw its best ever fourth quarter with sales up 17.2% (94,624 / prev. yr. 80,748). It was also a record December with sales increasing 20.7% compared with the same month in 2013 (36,773 / prev. yr. 30,455). Since coming fully onto the market, sales of the new third generation MINI 3-door and the brand new MINI 5-door have been very strong.” In December, sales of the 3-door were up 33.9% (16,418 / prev. yr. 12,262) while a total of 6,954 customers took delivery of a 5-door MINI in the last month of 2014. The MINI Countryman saw sales grow 5.0% across the year (106,995 / prev. yr. 101,897) while deliveries of the MINI Paceman totalled 15,567 in 2014, an increase of 6.0% (prev. yr. 14,687).

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars announced record sales results for a fifth consecutive year, with 4,063 units (prev. yr. 3,630 / +11.9%) sold globally during 2014, more than ever before in the brand’s 111-year history. Peter Schwarzenbauer said, “Rolls-Royce has seen strong sales worldwide, with double-digit increases in most regions. This exceptional growth means that deliveries have more than quadrupled since 2009.” Sales were driven by strong orders for Ghost Series II, launched in November, and Wraith, which enjoyed its first full year of sales, while the Phantom remains the company’s pinnacle product.

BMW Motorrad has achieved a fourth successive sales record, selling over 120,000 maxi-scooters and motorcycles for the first time ever, an increase of around 7%. The exact figures will be released on Monday.

The BMW Group achieved growth in all major sales regions in 2014
In Europe, a total of 913,803 BMW and MINI brand vehicles were delivered to customers (prev. yr. 858,990 / +6.4%). All European markets have experienced growth in 2014. The BMW Group’s home market, Germany, saw sales increase 1.7% across the year with 273,433 new vehicles registered (prev. yr. 268,838). Sales in the region’s second biggest market, Great Britain, grew 8.4% in 2014 (204,749 / prev. yr. 188,837) while a total of 67,449 BMW and MINI vehicles were delivered in France, an increase of 5.3% (prev. yr. 64,082).

Sales of BMW and MINI vehicles in Asia grew by 13.8% in 2014 with sales totalling 656,395 (prev. yr. 576,616). This level of sales growth was reflected in the December figures – deliveries in the last month of the year totalled 61,295 (prev. yr. 54,546 / +12.4%). The year saw sales in Mainland China grow by 16.7%, with a total of 455,979 BMW and MINI vehicles delivered to customers (prev. yr. 390,713). Strong sales growth was also experienced in South Korea, where 46,400 customer deliveries were made, an increase of 17.3% on the previous year (39,558).


Sales growth of 3.9% was recorded at year-end in the Americas (481,056 / prev. yr. 462,891). The USA was the region’s main growth driver in 2014, annual sales there were up 5.3% to total 395,850 (prev. yr. 375,782). Canada also saw positive growth of 1.2% (38,188 / prev. yr. 37,723) while sales in Mexico increased by 6.5% compared with the previous year (14,902 / prev. yr. 13,992).

Double-digit growth was recorded in the Middle East region with a total of 30,148 BMW and MINI vehicles sold in 2014, an increase of 22.6% compared with the previous year (24,596). December sales in the region were up 30.4% with a total of 2,511 vehicles delivered to customers in the last month of the year (prev. yr. 1,926).

[Luminor513]

And this is what matters to the decision makers most. All the enthusiasts who continue to vocalize how BMW has lost its way, how the F10, F30, and even the new G chassis cars are worse that their predecessors are fighting a losing battle because numbers like these tell BMW executives they must be doing something right. I will admit I feel BMW has taken a step back in the performance category on many levels, but the overall popularity of the brand is the growing in leaps and bounds.

[crono06]

Originally Posted by Luminor513

And this is what matters to the decision makers most. All the enthusiasts who continue to vocalize how BMW has lost its way, how the F10, F30, and even the new G chassis cars are worse that their predecessors are fighting a losing battle because numbers like these tell BMW executives they must be doing something right. I will admit I feel BMW has taken a step back in the performance category on many levels, but the overall popularity of the brand is the growing in leaps and bounds.

Completely agree. Catering to the sports car/enthusiast market would not drive as much sales as they currently are. It's very unfortunate, but at the end of the day, the accountants, execs, finance, and marketing will take a look at their current product mix and think that enthusiast vehicles are not what the mass public want.

Apple is a good example as well. When I was younger (back in the colorful iMac days) they were niche/enthusiast products. Now, if you happen to step foot in a university/college lecture hall, you'll probably notice that 70%+ of the laptops are MacBooks.

[Twix]

Originally Posted by crono06

Apple is a good example as well. When I was younger (back in the colorful iMac days) they were niche/enthusiast products. Now, if you happen to step foot in a university/college lecture hall, you'll probably notice that 70%+ of the laptops are MacBooks.

That's because my Macbook hasn't let me down the way "PC" laptops have done nothing but let me down. Apple created a product that the competition couldn't match in terms of quality. Hopefully, the same can be said about the direction BMW is headed. Hopefully they don't start producing more, but end up producing problematic vehicles.

[crono06]

Originally Posted by Twix

That's because my Macbook hasn't let me down the way "PC" laptops have done nothing but let me down. Apple created a product that the competition couldn't match in terms of quality. Hopefully, the same can be said about the direction BMW is headed. Hopefully they don't start producing more, but end up producing problematic vehicles.

Agreed. Apple product quality is still superior (imo) to its competition.

I'll be honest, this is my first BMW (and premium) vehicle, but I certainly feel that the quality is on point. When I was shopping, I felt that most of the other vehicles in this class had similar interiors and build quality, but where they lacked was driver involvement/enjoyment. I certainly do not have any complaints about my car, but maybe it's because I've been used to driving and being in econoboxes all my life

[tallshortguy]

Originally Posted by Luminor513

And this is what matters to the decision makers most. All the enthusiasts who continue to vocalize how BMW has lost its way, how the F10, F30, and even the new G chassis cars are worse that their predecessors are fighting a losing battle because numbers like these tell BMW executives they must be doing something right. I will admit I feel BMW has taken a step back in the performance category on many levels, but the overall popularity of the brand is the growing in leaps and bounds.

Seeing as no new G/35up chassis cars are even available or publicly revealed I'm not sure who you're referring to as complaining about how those cars drive. Then again with what I've seen of so called enthusiasts complaining about cars they've never even driven, I wouldn't put it past some people here to complain about a car that isn't even publicly revealed or still under development.

[NickyC]

I understand it's great to be a cheerleader these days and not question official stats, but you all realize BMW has quite the history of falsifying sales numbers correct? I trust an auto manufacturers sales numbers about as much as I trust government unemployment statistics. Everybody is lying these days, trust nothing you read.

[tallshortguy]

Originally Posted by NickyC

I understand it's great to be a cheerleader these days and not question official stats, but you all realize BMW has quite the history of falsifying sales numbers correct? I trust an auto manufacturers sales numbers about as much as I trust government unemployment statistics. Everybody is lying these days, trust nothing you read.

Notice they give numbers for registrations which is sold vehicles registered by owners. If you think the owners are in on it too then sure.

Also, there is spinning numbers such as shipped vs. registrations and then there is falsifying numbers. As I'm sure you know it is illegal for them as a publicly traded company to purposely falsify numbers.

[fecurtis]

Proof positive that this subforum has been right all along.

That BMW has lost its way and will lose customers left and right.

No wait a minute...I misread the title. I thought it said "BMW Group sales breaking in 2014". Missed the word "record" before "breaking". Now I'm confused, what will this subforum do now???

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by NickyC

I understand it's great to be a cheerleader these days and not question official stats, but you all realize BMW has quite the history of falsifying sales numbers correct? I trust an auto manufacturers sales numbers about as much as I trust government unemployment statistics. Everybody is lying these days, trust nothing you read.

...what?

What's not to trust about them?

As someone who has a background in economics, I await in giddy excitement for your answer. About 10 times out of 10 whenever I hear this crap, it turns out the person (you) just has absolutely no idea how to interpret the U1 through U6 calculations of unemployment.

[MalibuBimmer]

Originally Posted by tallshortguy

Notice they give numbers for registrations which is sold vehicles registered by owners. If you think the owners are in on it too then sure.

Also, there is spinning numbers such as shipped vs. registrations and then there is falsifying numbers. As I'm sure you know it is illegal for them as a publicly traded company to purposely falsify numbers.

Yabbut since the Quandt family owns 48.1% of BMW, only 51.9% is publicly traded. So BMW can make up 48.1% of the numbers. /sarc

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by fecurtis

...what?

What's not to trust about them?

As someone who has a background in economics, I await in giddy excitement for your answer. About 10 times out of 10 whenever I hear this crap, it turns out the person (you) just has absolutely no idea how to interpret the U1 through U6 calculations of unemployment.

The labor participation rate currently in the US stands at 63.7%, which is the lowest since 1977. In this past December alone, over 450,000 Americans dropped out of the workforce to bring the grand total to nearly 93 MILLION Americans out of the work force. The current U3 percentage of 5.6% is a complete and utter joke. I haven't checked the U6 percentage in awhile, but I believe it's around 11.5% which still isn't even close to an accurate representation considering 93 million Americans of a capable age are out of the workforce. When all is taken into account, a true representation of the unemployment rate in America is around 20%.

In a real world, with real numbers, the unemployment rate doesn't simply drop because people run out of their 20 weeks of UE benefits, or the fact they can't find a job. Those people still exist and they are still out of work. This is why we have record high numbers of people on disability, as well as nearly 50 million Americans on food stamps. This country is also experiencing depressed wages, with real wages decreasing .2% in December along with a revision downward in November. Absolutely none of this points to the BS number of 5.6% being anywhere close to accurate.

The old saying "it's the economy stupid" could not have been more apt in the November elections. If all was as rosy as the media claimed, why was the ruling party so handedly (historically actually) defeated? It's much like 2008, where everything was so bad the populace would vote for anything with a D next to their name.

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by NickyC

The labor participation rate currently in the US stands at 63.7%, which is the lowest since 1977. In this past December alone, over 450,000 Americans dropped out of the workforce to bring the grand total to nearly 93 MILLION Americans out of the work force. The current U3 percentage of 5.6% is a complete and utter joke. I haven't checked the U6 percentage in awhile, but I believe it's around 11.5% which still isn't even close to an accurate representation considering 93 million Americans of a capable age are out of the workforce. When all is taken into account, a true representation of the unemployment rate in America is around 20%.

It would be, if you want to consider people in school, the disabled, the elderly, people who are the stay at home moms and dads, and people in jail as part of the unemployment rate. It works both ways. Your methodology grossly overstates the actual unemployment rate since you're assuming people want to work or can work when they actually don't/can't. Don't get me wrong the U1-U6 methods aren't perfect, haven't really found an economic metric that is, but they tend to be good indicators for how the economy is doing.

In a real world, with real numbers, the unemployment rate doesn't simply drop because people run out of their 20 weeks of UE benefits, or the fact they can't find a job. Those people still exist and they are still out of work. This is why we have record high numbers of people on disability, as well as nearly 50 million Americans on food stamps. This country is also experiencing depressed wages, with real wages decreasing .2% in December along with a revision downward in November. Absolutely none of this points to the BS number of 5.6% being anywhere close to accurate.

No one is saying it's accurate, well no one who actually understands how the metric is calculated anyway. You use it as an approximation and compare it to last year. Plus, you can still be on government assistance and be employed full time. Hence why your observation on real wages is an accurate one. I'm curious as to see what the minimum wage increases in various parts of the country will have in next month's report, I remain doubtful.

The old saying "it's the economy stupid" could not have been more apt in the November elections. If all was as rosy as the media claimed, why was the ruling party so handedly (historically actually) defeated? It's much like 2008, where everything was so bad the populace would vote for anything with a D next to their name.

I don't recall the media ever calling the economy "rosy", I'd love to see a source from the past 8 years where the economy was being described in an incredibly optimistic manner, it hasn't so the rest of your point is moot and attempts to relate economics to politics.

Most macro economic activity in the US is largely outside of the government's direct control. That said, it does seem they really go out of their way to fuck it up regardless of whether or not they have an R or D after their name, you're being naive if you think otherwise. Most all of them are in it for their own personal benefit, the benefit of some fringe special interest group(s), or at best, the benefit of their constituents (the very set up of Congress incentivizes that above anything else, but more and more politicians don't really do that anymore either as it's not politically and monetary as lucrative these days where it's as easy as ever to take contributions and hide where they came from) and this is usually at the detriment of the rest of the country.

Anywho, this has nothing to do with BMW sales now so sorry for the tangent.

[SCOTT26]

our next course of action for the company within the next decade will make people hate us even more

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by fecurtis

No one is saying it's accurate

That was my entire point.

[JustChris]

Well this news isn't quite being received in a positive light! Looks like a bunch of doom mongers replying! Just collected my first M car today, my 8th BMW in a row and we're going from strength to strength, it is a masterpiece.

SCOTT26 I'm not too certain what you're saying too? Is it a gripe at the guys above?

[TheBingoBalls]

Is there a way to see a breakdown of models sold worldwide? The North American market doesn't interest me as much as the international market.

[Luminor513]

Originally Posted by tallshortguy

Seeing as no new G/35up chassis cars are even available or publicly revealed I'm not sure who you're referring to as complaining about how those cars drive. Then again with what I've seen of so called enthusiasts complaining about cars they've never even driven, I wouldn't put it past some people here to complain about a car that isn't even publicly revealed or still under development.

I clearly stated F10 & F30 in my post. Those two models are most heavily criticized on the forums, plenty of reading material on that. And for the G chassis, which yes we are all aware is not out and nobody has driven yet, but you will find plenty of criticism on the looks & design both exterior and interior. Take a look at the 7 series forums as a starting point.

[Matski]

Originally Posted by TheBingoBalls

Is there a way to see a breakdown of models sold worldwide? The North American market doesn't interest me as much as the international market.

In about 3 months time BMW will publish their 2014 Annual report, this will be the most information you'll get, however it doesn't break it down by models in each market.

[AW335TT]

Originally Posted by fecurtis

...what?

What's not to trust about them?

As someone who has a background in economics, I await in giddy excitement for your answer. About 10 times out of 10 whenever I hear this crap, it turns out the person (you) just has absolutely no idea how to interpret the U1 through U6 calculations of unemployment.

Not sure if punch cars are included in those numbers. I've worked at a dealership and at the end of the month, quarter, and year BMW will ask dealers to punch the cars (mark them as sold) which locks in the previous months incentives. Some cars go into loaner service, others stay punched until they are actually sold. Maybe that's what he is referring to...

[EnI]

Originally Posted by ChesterM2

SCOTT26 I'm not too certain what you're saying too?

One word: electrification.

Expect most if not all BMW cars after 2025 to be PHEVs, RExEVs, and BEVs. After 2025 an ICE-only vehicle in BMW portfolio will consider to be completely exotic. If there will even be one. Probably not.

[rolltidef32]

Originally Posted by Luminor513

And this is what matters to the decision makers most. All the enthusiasts who continue to vocalize how BMW has lost its way, how the F10, F30, and even the new G chassis cars are worse that their predecessors are fighting a losing battle because numbers like these tell BMW executives they must be doing something right. I will admit I feel BMW has taken a step back in the performance category on many levels, but the overall popularity of the brand is the growing in leaps and bounds.

Agree with you totally. Yes, the brand is growing, but it's not the way it grew to get us here.

Most of these new owners are just buying the badge, or looks. This is a slippery slope to me, as its the core enthusiasts that made BMW. These poseurs want to emulate us, so they buy the car.

Think about it, there is even a BMW stereotype. They call us smug, or cocky; we are! But my point is that these badge wannabes are a fickle bunch. Was into it in another forum on here with Audi guys about how lame those cars are in comparison. They love talking about gadgets and interior "looks" Never do Audi owners talk about driving dynamics or fun.

The poseurs will buy anything. BMW today, and a Lexus tomorrow. too much of a good thing can hide a lot of bad under the surface.