The BMW Group in the US reported August sales of 30,931 vehicles, an increase of 1.0 percent over the 30,639 vehicles sold in August 2007. The BMW Group also reported a year-to-date sales volume of 217,821 vehicles, down 2.5 percent, compared to 223,341 vehicles in the same period of 2007.
BMW Brand Sales
Sales of BMW brand vehicles decreased 4.1 percent in August for a total of 25,462 compared to 26,562 reported in the same month a year ago. Year-to-date BMW brand sales were down 7.4 percent, to 180,889 vehicles compared to 195,436 vehicles sold in the same period in 2007.
"In the last six months in a tough economy we have seen premium brand sales largely supported by the Northeast region," said Jim O'Donnell, President of BMW of North America, LLC. "In August however the Southeast and West came back as a strong contributor to our BMW sales. A trend? Don't know, but a good sign."
Contributing to BMW sales in August was a good balance between retail financing and leasing.
"We are strong believers that the premium market deserves a choice of both retail financing and leasing," said Jim O'Donnell. "We knew working our APR programs to add a bit more value to the ownership equation would get us a better balance with leasing. This month it's been exactly like this."
BMW Automobile Sales
BMW's automobile sales are down 5.6 percent in August to 19,653 versus 20,825 in the same month a year ago. Year-to-date sales also decreased 7.1 percent, to 142,436 automobiles compared to 153,303 in the same period of 2007.
BMW Sports Activity Vehicle Sales
Sales of BMW Sports Activity Vehicles increased by 1.3 percent in August to 5,809 vehicles over the 5,737 sold last August. Year-to-date, sales of BMW Sports Activity Vehicles were down 8.7 percent, to 38,453 vehicles compared to the 42,133 sold in the first eight months of 2007.
MINI Brand Sales
MINI USA reported August sales of 5,469 automobiles, up 34.1 percent from the 4,077 cars sold in August 2007. Year-to-date, the division reported sales of 36,932 automobiles, an increase of 32.3 percent, compared to the 27,905 cars reported in the first eight months of 2007.
"MINI continued to see strong demand in August and one that again lowered our inventory even more," said Jim McDowell, Vice-President MINI USA. "But good news is on the way as we have increased our allocation for the remainder of the year starting in September."
McDowell noted that 75 percent of all MINI customers will likely build their vehicles to order. "This trend shows that MINI costumers continue to be those choosing more for lifestyle and individualization rather than just downsizing for fuel economy."