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BMW sales rise as Europe growth offsets China slump

By Editor
13 August 2015   |   6:35 pm
BMW Group said on Thursday deliveries of its BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce cars rose 5.6 per cent to 173,195 in July to a new record as demand in Europe offset falling sales in China and the U.S
BMW M3.Photo: gentside

BMW M3.Photo: gentside

BMW Group said on Thursday deliveries of its BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce cars rose 5.6 per cent to 173,195 in July to a new record as demand in Europe offset falling sales in China and the U.S.that  The automaker’s European sales increased 11.3 per cent to 75,572 last month but its volume declined by 6.2 per cent to 34,614 vehicles in China — its third consecutive month of decline in the world’s largest market — and slipped by 0.2 percent to 32,161 in the U.S. Global deliveries at BMW brand increased 5.8 percent to 147,513 in July, the automaker said in a statement.

That result, however, trailed Mercedes-Benz brand by 2,240 sales. It marks the second time this year that Mercedes brand has outsold BMW brand in a month. The last time it happened was in January. Mercedes parent Daimler has said it wants to reclaim the title of world’s best-selling premium brand from BMW by 2020. Audi also aims to be number one in global premium sales by 2020. The Volkswagen Group subsidiary will release its July sales results on today.

BMW brand deliveries in China were down 7.4 per cent to 32,226 vehicles in July but rose by 12 per cent to 62,253 in Europe and 2.1 percent to 26,970 units in the U.S. Mini sales in China were up 14 per cent to 2,388 last month and rose 8.1 per cent to 13,309 in Europe last month but fell 11 per cent in the U.S. to 5,191. BMW blames the decline on a comparison with a very strong showing for Mini in July 2014. July sales of BMW’s X5 SUV were up 33 per cent to 14,938 while X6 deliveries increase 72 per cent to 3,648 during the month, the company said.

BMW sales boss, Ian Robertson said in the statement: “Despite the volatility we are seeing on some markets, the BMW Group continues to show steady sales growth around the world, We are seeing strong momentum in Europe and buoyant markets in the NAFTA region and much of Asia, so I remain confident that the positive sales development we have achieved so far this year will continue through the rest of 2015.”

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