[Jason]

BIMMERPOST NEWS

BMW Group U.S. Reports March 2016 Sales

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BMW brand sales decrease 12.5 percent
MINI brand sales decrease 18.3 percent
BMW Motorcycle sales increase 6 percent

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – April 1, 2016… Sales of BMW brand vehicles decreased 12.5 percent in March for a total of 30,033 compared to 34,310 vehicles sold in March, 2015. Year-to-date, BMW brand is down 10.0 percent on sales of 70,613 compared to 78,492 sold in the first three months of 2015.

Of particular note in March, were strong increases in the sales of BMW Sports Activity Vehicles, in particular the BMW X1 and the BMW X3. The popular new BMW 7 Series continues its sales success, increasing by 16.1 percent over March 2015.

“It’s been a tumultuous first quarter of the year for business in the U.S. with plenty of volatility even in the premium vehicle segment,” said Ludwig Willisch, President and CEO, BMW of North America. “The desire for premium Sports Activity Vehicles continues accelerating at a strong pace in the U.S. and I’m very pleased that our SAV plant in South Carolina will make another production increase in the months ahead to help us satisfy the ever-growing demand for our X models.”

To see and hear more of Ludwig Willisch's business perspective click here.

BMW Group Sales

In total, the BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) reported March sales of 34,795 vehicles, a decrease of 13.3 percent from the 40,139 vehicles sold in the same month a year ago. Year-to-date, BMW Group sales are down 10.8 percent on sales of 81,452 in the first three months of 2016 compared to 91,269 in the same period in 2015.

MINI Brand Sales

For March, MINI USA reported 4,762 automobiles sold, a decrease of 18.3 percent from the 5,829 sold in the same month a year ago. Year-to-date, MINI USA reported a total of 10,839 automobiles sold, a decrease of 15.2 percent from 12,777 automobiles sold in the first three months of 2015.

[IndotagSwizz]

Looks like some of the complaints the brand has been receiving during the last couple of years is starting to manifest in the sales numbers, hopefully BMW will listen to those numbers

[BGR]

Originally Posted by IndotagSwizz

Looks like some of the complaints the brand has been receiving during the last couple of years is starting to manifest in the sales numbers, hopefully BMW will listen to those numbers

It's unfortunate that companies get complacent, and the only thing that opens their eyes is when sales fall. Then it takes more time and money to get back to where they were instead of staying ahead of the curve.

[fecurtis]

Didn't take long for the doom and gloom posts to come in.

How'd their competitors do? And are you guys even looking at the numbers? People give BMW a lot of flak around here because they're building X4's and X6's....they can't seem to make enough SUV's to sell. It's their dated cars that are causing the fall. Only car models with YoY increases are the new 7 Series and the still mostly new 2 Series. The rest of the line up is a bit long in the tooth and no one ever expected the i line to actually sell in high numbers.

As models begin to roll out redesigns, that trend should change.

[Stratus650]

Man the 6 series sales are a disaster compared to last year march, its less than quarter of what was sold

Geez Bmw gotta freshen up that car quick

[rjd598]

Originally Posted by Stratus650

Man the 6 series sales are a disaster compared to last year march, its less than quarter of what was sold

Geez Bmw gotta freshen up that car quick

i noticed that too. what's wrong with it? i mean if i could afford it i would swoop up on an m6 coupe or gc.

[Stratus650]

Originally Posted by rjd598

i noticed that too. what's wrong with it? i mean if i could afford it i would swoop up on an m6 coupe or gc.

Exactly! It was sooo successful initially, and the gc boosted sales more than double when launched.

I guess it aged faster than expected

[Fundguy1]

Guess the "i" cars were a mistake like I've been saying all along. Making the 3 series more like everyone else's instead of the class leader in performance, numb steering, bigger, etc is hurting.

[bjcarls]

Originally Posted by fecurtis

Didn't take long for the doom and gloom posts to come in.

How'd their competitors do? And are you guys even looking at the numbers? People give BMW a lot of flak around here because they're building X4's and X6's....they can't seem to make enough SUV's to sell. It's their dated cars that are causing the fall. Only car models with YoY increases are the new 7 Series and the still mostly new 2 Series. The rest of the line up is a bit long in the tooth and no one ever expected the i line to actually sell in high numbers.

As models begin to roll out redesigns, that trend should change.

Audi up 7.5%, MB down 3.3%, VW down 10.4%, Buick down 11.3%

YTD
Audi: 4.6%
MB: -.8%
BMW: -10%

I hope the rebates get bigger!

http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2016/04...d-results.html
Not many are worse and long in tooth is not a good excuse. Make the cars better the first time and,they won't get long in the tooth so quick. Halogen lights....

[bavarian19]

Originally Posted by Stratus650

Exactly! It was sooo successful initially, and the gc boosted sales more than double when launched.

I guess it aged faster than expected

It's not that it is aging. It is a fad. The tough part about sales and auto fads is that they constantly need to be new and exponentially 'cooler.' Just hard to keep doing that over the huge range of cars BMW offers.

Also, when you charge 50k for a decent optioned 328 (translate up the product range), people are more likely to hold on to what they have for longer than re-up for something newer.

Also, if Ford can come out with an AWD 350 HP Focus RS for $35k, an equally equipped 3 series would be $60k. I know it is a totally different segment, but at some point, you ask you what you get for your money. People are speaking by not purchasing.

[bjcarls]

Originally Posted by bavarian19

Also, if Ford can come out with an AWD 350 HP Focus RS for $35k, an equally equipped 3 series would be $60k.

And a flat drank 500hp GT350 for $60k...

Every business is cyclical and I hope BMW gets a fire in its belly.

[gambitx28]

Originally Posted by bavarian19

Also, when you charge 50k for a decent optioned 328 (translate up the product range), people are more likely to hold on to what they have for longer than re-up for something newer.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by Fundguy1

Guess the "i" cars were a mistake like I've been saying all along. Making the 3 series more like everyone else's instead of the class leader in performance, numb steering, bigger, etc is hurting.

Because everyone is putting an order in for a Tesla 3.

First 24 hours Tesla has taken almost 200,000 deposits for one.

Agreed about the 3 series. Turning into just another car. No longer seems to be a BMW, so why not shop other brands as well.

[bavarian19]

Originally Posted by bjcarls

And a flat crank 500hp GT350 for $60k...

Every business is cyclical and I hope BMW gets a fire in its belly.

Amen. Again, I know it is a different segment, but boy does that sound much more exciting than a partially loaded 440.

[geddylee]

How bout the option for Hydraulic Steering? I would pay for it. As far as the brand is concerned, it's big and bloated and none of the cars they make are great, some are good but at the high end price point you need more then just technical gizmos. The are no longer the ultimate driving machine.

[X3paul]

Originally Posted by Stratus650

Man the 6 series sales are a disaster compared to last year march, its less than quarter of what was sold

Geez Bmw gotta freshen up that car quick

That car looked old the moment it was put on the market. Previous gen looks way better.

[X3paul]

Originally Posted by geddylee

How bout the option for Hydraulic Steering? I would pay for it. As far as the brand is concerned, it's big and bloated and none of the cars they make are great, some are good but at the high end price point you need more then just technical gizmos. The are no longer the ultimate driving machine.

Saying it all along. And bmw's bread and butter (x vehicles) are getting more and more competition coming up (maserati, porsche, jag) so expect those strong sales to decline too

[JRobUSC]

I understand how being down 12.5% can look bad in a vacuum, without any context. But if you actually look at the figures BMW is only down 12.5% because they had a ridiculous March in 2015. Even being down by 12.5% this March compared to March last year, BMW was still virtually tied with Lexus for most luxury sales, about 1500 units ahead of Mercedes, and almost double Audi. Again, raw numbers don't always tell the whole story. Though I will say, wtf is up with the 6-Series???

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by bjcarls

http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2016/04...d-results.html
Not many are worse and long in tooth is not a good excuse. Make the cars better the first time and,they won't get long in the tooth so quick. Halogen lights....

Yeah it is, average lifespan of a car generation is about 7 years. By that time competitors will have redesigned cars that will have updated tech and features. Since every manufacturer have different refresh years, this happens. The C Class has sense been redesigned and the A4 was just redesigned. The 3 Series will be the last of the three to be redesigned, not because they're "slow", that's just how the redesign windows fall given the 7 year life spans. Hell a common complaint about the now previous B8 A4 was how dated the interior was.

And the knock about halogen lights is funny, the C-Class and A4 also come standard with halogen lights.

I get being critical of things but the circle jerking and overall level of ignorance never fails to amuse.

Also per your link, BMW sold 63% more cars than Audi did in March. Just under MB and was dead on in sales against Lexus.

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by bavarian19

Also, if Ford can come out with an AWD 350 HP Focus RS for $35k, an equally equipped 3 series would be $60k. I know it is a totally different segment, but at some point, you ask you what you get for your money. People are speaking by not purchasing.

The Focus RS certainly seems like something special...I'd never buy one though.

[dkhm3]

Most lux cars are either flat or down YTD, lexus is down almost 4%.

it is not a surprise. last year's sales rates are hard to sustain. bmw is faring the worst because it needs new products.

[bjcarls]

Originally Posted by fecurtis

Yeah it is, average lifespan of a car generation is about 7 years. By that time competitors will have redesigned cars that will have updated tech and features. Since every manufacturer have different refresh years, this happens. The C Class has sense been redesigned and the A4 was just redesigned. The 3 Series will be the last of the three to be redesigned, not because they're "slow", that's just how the redesign windows fall given the 7 year life spans. Hell a common complaint about the now previous B8 A4 was how dated the interior was.

And the knock about halogen lights is funny, the C-Class and A4 also come standard with halogen lights.

I get being critical of things but the circle jerking and overall level of ignorance never fails to amuse.

Also per your link, BMW sold 63% more cars than Audi did in March. Just under MB and was dead on in sales against Lexus.

Tell that to your boss, but I beat them in total revenue....growth rate doesn't matter.

It's just ignorant, I think BMW and almost all companies (besides Tesla and Amazon) are victims to #'s and growth versus building the "ultimate driving machine". Halogen is just a reference of something that shouldn't be in a $40k car. Not a comparison of what others are doing and getting higher growth rates.