BMW Sales Figures

[ptack]

This was posted at Bimmerfest. Sales of the 1 are probably right on target, but look at what they may have done to Z4 sales. I bet BMW didn't see that coming.
Note the huge drop off in X3 sales.

[larryn]

Thanks for posting, and very interesting numbers.

The Z4 is due for a replacement, and at the end product lifecycle. So, it's very common to see that downtrend. I'm not too surprised at the X3 numbers either, for people opting for a all wheel drive wagon in lieu of a less efficient SUV. X5 sales are only maintaining due to the new X5 model.

[warmtoes]

It still surprises me that X5 sales are higher than X3 sales with $4 per gallon gas.

And, wagons have never been popular in the US. I read that the A4 sedan outsells the A4 wagon 10 to 1 in the US and 5 to 1 in Canada but the wagon outsells the sedan slightly everywhere else in the world.

[bimmerfile]

ptack:
Sales of the 350Z, MB SLK, Audi TT are all down 30 - 40% YTD..
Probably more to do with the economy then with switching to the 1er. :iono:

[aus]

Those sales number are a couple months old. I've been to two dealers and the X5's were just sitting there with $5,000-6,000 discounts.

The Z series is going to be moving up market wtih the new version, so I'm sure BMW knew it was going to take a hit with the 1 series.

[warmtoes]

I have heard of up to $8000 off for Z4's up here.

[ptack]

The X5 sales are surprising. In fact, the whole 5 line is saving BMW's bacon (excluding Cooper).

I don't think it's just the economy hitting the Z4 sales. If that were true it would also impact 1 sales which seem to be right on target. I wonder how low the Z sales could go before they had to drop the car. I don't know what the minimum revenue number they need to justify the production is, but it has to be significant. Ford, GM and Toyota are doing simlar calculations, but they have it way worse.

[amurph182]

I was speaking with a BMW salesman today who was telling me that BMW will be shipping a lot less cars to the US in 09 because they're selling more cars at higher prices elsewhere in the world. I don't think he was just trying to "put me in the car today" because it was just small talk as we were talking about a future order on an 09 that I would pretty much be guaranteed.

Anyone else heard something like this?

[warmtoes]

It wouldn't surprise me if it was true. Even the plants they have in the US aren't that profitable because the engines still come from Germany.

Audi's former chief was credited for making Audi more profitable because of his incompetence in the US market. Because they sold less cars in the US compared to elsewhere they had higher margins and higher profitability. He was still fired though because he was really incompetent.

[1speedbike]

I was strongly considering a Z4, then an Audi A5. Then I learned about the 1! It definitely pulled me away from the Z.

[aus]

Originally Posted by amurph182

I was speaking with a BMW salesman today who was telling me that BMW will be shipping a lot less cars to the US in 09 because they're selling more cars at higher prices elsewhere in the world. I don't think he was just trying to "put me in the car today" because it was just small talk as we were talking about a future order on an 09 that I would pretty much be guaranteed.

Anyone else heard something like this?

That news has been out for a couple months now. Most of the diverted cars will be going to Asia. It's in response to the slow economy and terrible exchange rates in the US at this time. Things will change once the economy gets better and the dollar gets stronger.

[ptack]

Yes, Bloomberg was reporting the change in market strategy for BMW. They have to hope that their branding message works in China and India. Those are the only 2 new markets where there may be enough wealthy people to sustain serious sales volume. It will be very interesting to see if they try and develop cars aimed at either of those markets.

[Don-Corleone]

Originally Posted by aus

That news has been out for a couple months now. Most of the diverted cars will be going to Asia. It's in response to the slow economy and terrible exchange rates in the US at this time. Things will change once the economy gets better and the dollar gets stronger.

Stronger $ vs Euros and better US economy is not something that will happen anytime soon my friend :iono:!

But rest assured it doesn't mean that Europeans have stronger buying power in their home countries thanks to high inflation rate (above 6% just this past month). When I come home to the US I can purchase more with less money but that stops here.

The average European struggles just as much as most Americans do but with higher tax systems and increased living costs linked to increased crude oil and first necessity commodities prices.

When the US sneeze Europe has a cold and the rest of the world is in the coma.

Emerging nations like the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) are untaped markets for luxury brands like BMW and sustain the role that once the Colonial Nations had (Chinese investment in Africa has surpassed any British and French investments all together) but the humanitarian and social discrepancy between classes is so wide that you can't consider them yet industrialized nations and this what allows a large minority 10% of 1.3 billion Chinese to consume luxury goods!

Don-

[TP 135i]

After production of the 2008 1-series has ended, is there anywhere that we can get a breakdown of the total sales for the 2008 135 vs the 128 models ?
I would love to know how many 135's there are running around. And 128's as well.

[Jack in Jax]

The CCA's Roundel usually has quarterly sales numbers, including a model breakdown for BMW NA sales. It also will pass along basic company changes in marketing strategy since that obviously ripples down to dealers' showrooms.

BMW's penetration in Russia is well ahead of China and India. A friend (and long-term Muscovite before moving to the USA) recently returned from Moscow and commented that BMW was the brand she now most often sees on the streets. The place just oozes money these days - who would have thought?

Meanwhile and WRT market penetration, China is now at the same point in car ownership (1.4%) that the USA was in 1915. The govt. has built many thousands of miles of new roads in the last decade as a part of their larger strategy to build populaton centers adjacent to preferred manufacturing areas. The Post recently did an interesting series on Chinese vehicle preferences and a big surprise for me was that 'small' is seen by car buyers in China as 'inferior' and 'cheap'. Buick has a huge piece of the market there based on its history and the full-size model choices available. China also provides govt. backed financing support so Chinese buyers can purchase a new car with no down payment - 100% financing.

Jack

[TP 135i]

Jack,

Would the numbers quoted for sales in Roundel be just for USA, North America or are they global?

[Spook]

It looks like the 1 Series will come close but not quite hit the target of 10,000 units this year. That surprises me. The 128 is a great car for the current times and the 128 vert is a steal.

[lib]

Originally Posted by Spook

It looks like the 1 Series will come close but not quite hit the target of 10,000 units this year. That surprises me. The 128 is a great car for the current times and the 128 vert is a steal.

Having a few cars laying around is not very surprising.

There are always a few people backing out of purchases, a few cars that are poorly optioned by dealers, a couple convertibles that end up in Alaska, etc. I wouldn't expect them to have sold nearly every 1er unless we had seen a substantial waiting list.

[Dr_Jones]

Hesus Christos...MINI Saves the day.

[Jack in Jax]

TP:

Most of the sales- and marketing-related info offered in the Roundel this past year, which is all I've seen, has focused on BMW NA as that's the focus of the CCA and its readership.

Jack

[Xin1120]

Who wants a Z4 when you can have the 135i Plus, it might also have something to do with the weak dollar.

[sunking420]

The 135i looks to me more and more like the child of a Z4 that was raped by an M3....Has elements of both in styling and mechanics...Hope that analogy doesn't get anyone ill, just I see a lot of the Z4 in the "1"................