Who Stole BMW's Thunder? March Sales Rise Only 3.1%

BMW Brand Sales
Sales of BMW brand vehicles increased 3.1 percent in March for a total of 18,060 vehicles mainly driven by BMW’s 3 Series (9,413 units; +11.2%) and the Sports-Activity-Vehicles range consisting of the X3 (716 units; +58.1%), X5 (2,536 units: 26.7%) and X6 (363 units; +21.4%). January through March, BMW brand sales were up 8.4 percent to 46,323 vehicles compared to 42,731 vehicles sold in the same period of 2009.

Diesel-powered vehicles continued to show good acceptance. Combined sales of the two vehicles available in the US – the BMW 335d and X5 xDrive 35d – introduced at the beginning of 2009, increased more than fivefold to 991 units in March. With 2,154 units sold in the first quarter, the X5 Advanced Diesel remains the best selling premium diesel powered vehicle in the US.

“This month concludes a very positive first quarter for BMW as we are on track with our profitable growth targets,” said Jim O’Donnell, President of BMW of North America, LLC.  “In reality, we are anxiously awaiting the market introduction of our new 5 Series in June and while we manage the challenge of very little inventory of the current version until we get there, we are delighted with the performance of our other products picking up the pace.”

BMW Used Cars
In March, sales of BMW’s used vehicles (Including certified pre-owned vehicles) sold through BMW’s dealership network increased 26.5 percent to 15,938 vehicles. January through March, used vehicle sales were up 0.6 percent to 39,848 vehicles, again with over half of these buyers new to the BMW brand.
 
MINI Brand Sales
MINI USA’s sales volume remained stable at 3,610 cars, versus the 3,605 units reported in the same month a year ago.  Year-to-date, MINI USA also reported sales of 8,728 automobiles, an increase of 2.5 percent.



 
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ItsMi - 4/1/2010 2:41:20 PM

-2 Boost

Nobody STOLE from BMW. Their quality controls are just horrible and the way they treat customers that has recurring chronic issues are equally pathetic. Ex Bimmer lovers just went and buy from other brands.

JRobUSC - 4/1/2010 3:14:51 PM

+3 Boost

Nice attention grabbing, flame baiting headline. Not mentioned was the fact the other manufacturers had bad months in March 2009 and BMW didn't (BMW spent the first half of 2009 ahead of Lexus for new car luxury sales in the U.S.). When you compare a good month to a slump month, surprise, the growth figures are big. Conversely when you compare a good month to a similarly good month, they aren't. Amazing how that math stuff works, isn't it? But hey, this is Autospies.com, let's not let "context" or "logic" get in the way when we can start arguments instead.

thetruth01 - 4/1/2010 4:07:56 PM

0 Boost

And yet by the end of 2009, BMW came up short....again....still. So the anomaly was a few months in 2009, not now. As long as BMW relies on one car, the 3, they will stay solidly number 2.

Agent009 - 4/1/2010 4:54:18 PM

-5 Boost

JRobUSC, why don't you put your new math to the total quarter (3 months) rather than just one month?

If you do that you see the following:

BMW is up 8.4%
Audi is up 34.8%
Mercedes-Benz is up 22.4%
Lexus is up 19.3% (even with all of their problems)
Acura is up 14.9%

When you look at the overall numbers you see BMW is consistently under performing sales wise. So again I have to ask "Who Stole BMW's Thunder?"

JRobUSC - 4/1/2010 5:12:20 PM

+3 Boost

009, ok, let's try this again. Part of that again is because for the first half of last year BMW was posting significantly better numbers than the other brands. Are they underperforming a bit this year? Probably, but not to the degree you are implying. You're simply comparing apples to oranges -- BMW was doing better than everyone else at this time last year. Now everyone is doing well. They aren't going to have the same gains when they didn't have the same drop in the first place.

On the flip side, the second half of last year is when BMW slowed down and Lexus came back to top them for total year sales. My guess is the second half of this year you'll see much bigger sales jumps from BMW versus last year than you're seeing right now for two reasons:

1) there's a whole lot of new stuff coming out (refreshed 3-Series coupe and convertible, new 5-Series, refreshed X5, and new X3), and
2) you'll be comparing BMW's worst months last year to what will be better months this year, just like you're already doing for Lexus, Mercedes, etc. So when those brands are showing modest increases over last year in later months this year, BMW will be showing larger ones, because they have more room to increase over last year.

Is that better? It's not rocket science. You have to be able to apply some context to the figures, even if it comes at the cost of your splashy headlines.

JRobUSC - 4/1/2010 5:33:53 PM

+2 Boost

"And yet by the end of 2009, BMW came up short....again....still. So the anomaly was a few months in 2009, not now. As long as BMW relies on one car, the 3, they will stay solidly number 2."

... said the guy whose brand relies on 40% of their sales coming from one vehicle, the RX. Hi there, Kettle? This is Pot. You're black.

thetruth01 - 4/1/2010 6:32:36 PM

-2 Boost

53% of BMW's sales were 3 series, 53%. The next highest 5 series is 16%.

40% of Lexus's sales are RXs. The next highest ES sits at 19%.

Lexus is much less dependent on a single model than BMW is. Just sayin.

JRobUSC - 4/1/2010 6:50:40 PM

+3 Boost

Glad you brought that up. That 53% includes 328i sedans, 328i xDrive sedans, 335i sedans, 335i xDrive sedans, 335d sedans, 328i Coupes, 328i xDrive Coupes, 335i Coupes, 335i xDrive Coupes, 328i Convertibles, 335i Convertibles, 328iT Wagons, and 328iT xDrive Wagons. Plus soon to be launched 335is Coupes and 335is Convertibles. That's 15 models.

Lexus's 40% for the RX come from RX350 and RX400h. That's two models, almost all of the sales of which come from the first one.

Which brand is more reliant on one particular vehicle again? Riiiiiight.

JRobUSC - 4/1/2010 7:03:15 PM

+3 Boost

BTW, I forgot the M3 sedan, coupe, and convertible, so that's 18 models of 3-Series that make up 53% of their sales. BMW offers 23 OTHER models across all their other lines making up the other 47% of sales.

So that's 53% of their sales coming from 44% of their model lineup, and 47% of their sales from the other 56%. That's actually pretty darn good. How would Lexus do if we ran that same exercise with the RX and all their other models? (HINT: not good, but feel free to give it a shot).

What's that they say about glass houses and stones?

aarononymous - 4/1/2010 10:15:59 PM

+1 Boost

dude, enough of the "pot calling the kettle black" & "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones". you're arguing car sales for BMW on Autospies and making yourself look like a d-bag....relax, the world won't stop spinning if BMW has a bad month.

thetruth01 - 4/1/2010 10:35:51 PM

-1 Boost

All those models, you'd think BMW might be on top, oops, they're not.

JRobUSC - 4/1/2010 11:13:52 PM

0 Boost

Yes, because actually knowing what they're talking about makes someone a "d-bag" on Autospies.com. It's so much better to spout mindless ignorance. Because that is, of course, not d-baggy at all. Rest assured Aaronymous, you are no d-bag.

aarononymous - 4/2/2010 12:14:03 AM

-2 Boost

exactly, it's Autospies....you still haven't figured it out? Quit trying to take the high road & stick to the game plan...how's that make you feel to be so knowledgeable about BMW sales vs all the so-called inferior brands?

Agent009 - 4/2/2010 8:35:10 AM

-6 Boost

Funny how some people really want to believe we have a BMW bias here.

It is implied we all own a stable of the brand by some of you. I admit there is a healthy respect for the marque, and I believe we all have owned one at one time or another. However, I can only think of only one BMW amongst those that post, and he oly occasionally posts.

In reality there actually are more Lexus and Audi's in the bunch than BMW's (possibly Mercs as well).

So I guess if "we" are such BMW fanbois then why don’t we all own our very own example? Price? I think not because in almost all cases even the Lexus models they cost almost as much as an M3. There is no Darwinian force here , denying any staffer from owning a BMW.

The reason is choice, just like you do. We choose to own a variety of brands so we tend to have an idea what each marque weaknesses may be.

BMW makes an excellent product, however the question remains are they changing from the "ultimate driving machine" to the "ultimate brand for everyone". There is no question there is a marketing shift from idiom to another, but where that leads them to may be the better question.

JRobUSC - 4/2/2010 9:33:49 AM

+3 Boost

aaronymous, I never said any brand was inferior, or that BMW was superior. I merely added some context to the figures being cited in the post, because frankly, someone had to.

theoptimisticpessimist - 4/1/2010 3:34:55 PM

-6 Boost

BMW needs a shake up, The CEO and cronies need to go. More focus needs to be poured back in to core products. Look at the time and money wasted on the inept 5 GT which has delived a miserable 8% of production goals. Reithofer announces FWD and smaller are BMW future is both telling and disturbing. BMW future should not include Reithofer.

PerformanceGuy - 4/1/2010 3:36:49 PM

0 Boost

From the looks of the other luxury divisions, it looks like it was Infiniti and Audi.

BondMI6 - 4/1/2010 3:41:36 PM

-3 Boost

Remember how the 5GT was originally the "Progressive Activity Sedan"?.......lol

Anyways, I think BMW is on the right track. The new 5er is something else, the 335is and now the greenlit Coupe to replace the M6 all show that BMW is not giving up selling performance oriented cars. The problem is the competition is more fierce than ever and BMW will no longer be in a position to solely rule the roost.

DinamoR - 4/2/2010 12:44:30 AM

-2 Boost

The big surprise to me is the new 7. Brand new model and it barely beats the ~4 years old LS. And nowhere near the S class. BMW is being carried by two cars: 3 and 5 series. Those two are awesome and by far the best sellers in their classes, but other than that BMW is not very strong anywhere. 5GT has to be a huge bust. What a waster of money.

JRobUSC - 4/2/2010 9:38:03 AM

+5 Boost

YTD Mercedes S-Class 2769
YTD Lexus LS 2785
YTD BMW 7-Series 2910

M53R - 4/2/2010 10:30:03 AM

+1 Boost

Dinamo.

Guess which one costs more? The 7 series costs at least 25% more than you're cheap LS.

BMW4me4ever - 4/2/2010 10:57:19 AM

0 Boost

psst news flash .... the 2010 models stopped production in the month on February due to the 2011 being released in end of April ...

That may have a little bit of an impact since inventories are pretty low as compared to our competition ....

PUGPROUD - 4/2/2010 6:03:26 AM

+1 Boost

AUDI = style & quality MERCEDES = class & status BMW = ultimate driving machines compromised to drive mass sales

Yonder7 - 4/2/2010 7:01:35 AM

-2 Boost

BMW still doing excelent cars, the problem is the the designs are not popular, in fact they have too many ugly cars right now. From the numbers, the brand new 7 is a a failure not because is a bad car if not because the exterior design is horrible,....they will have to modify that car if they want to success in that category. I hope 5 series will help them a lot. Now for the overall sales, one month is not saying anything. Wait till the end of the year and then look for a trend.

Milton - 4/2/2010 8:52:53 AM

+2 Boost

Mercedes S-Class : 1242
BMW 7 Series : 733

JRobUSC - 4/2/2010 9:37:03 AM

+2 Boost

YTD Mercedes S-Class 2769
YTD Lexus LS 2785
YTD BMW 7-Series 2910

GermanNut - 4/2/2010 10:55:41 AM

-1 Boost

YTD Mercedes S-Class 2769
YTD Lexus LS 2785
YTD BMW 7-Series 2910


Does anyone realize the S-class is clearly the oldest car of the group and it nearly matches the practically brand new BMW 7-series in sales in the United States YTD.

I bet if we look at the global sales figures for the S-class and the brand-new 7-series, the dated S-class STILL outsells the brand-new BMW 7-series. That, my friends, is the very definition of a FAILING FLAGSHIP FOR BMW.

JRobUSC - 4/2/2010 11:12:18 AM

+2 Boost

YTD Mercedes S-Class 2769
YTD Lexus LS 2785
YTD BMW 7-Series 2910
YTD Audi A8 149

That's right, 149. I purposely left that out before out of respect for Audi, a brand I genuinely like, but you had to go and mouth off and ruin it... and before you start talking about how it's being replaced, even in its heyday here in the U.S. the A8 was getting outsold 10-1 by each of the others.

Listen, I know you love Audi. I like them too. But you're doing more harm than good, seriously. Take a step back -- Audi doesn't need a David999 on here turning people off of them.