BMW Q1 sales 16% higher

According to Khabarkhodro,BMW Group Malaysia's total vehicle sales grew 16% to 1,516 units in the first quarter ended March 31, 2012, marking a new record high for the premium car company.

It sold 1,362 units of BMW vehicles, 80 units of the Mini and 74 units of the Motorrad in the first three months of the year, said managing director Geoffrey Briscoe.

“In March, BMW Group Malaysia once again enjoyed a very promising month in sales with a total of 603 BMW, Mini and Motorrad vehicles sold.

“This marks a 43% increase from the same period last year and a 36% increase from the previous month,” he told StarBiz in an e-mail.

Briscoe said the company's BMW 3 Series was its best seller to date, with sales boosted by the launch of its sixth generation model just last month.

He said a total of 586 units of the 3 Series were delivered in the first quarter of this year, comprising 43% of BMW Group Malaysia's total sales during the period.

“We are confident that the BMW 3 Series will continue to be a key contributor to our business success here in Malaysia with additional new variants still on the way.”

Briscoe added that the BMW 5 Series was also another key performer for BMW Group Malaysia, with 569 units delivered in the first three months of the year or equivalent to 41% of first quarter sales in 2012.

“We are confident that the BMW 5 Series' success will continue to grow, particularly in light of the imminent introduction of the BMW Active Hybrid 5, our first ever Hybrid vehicle for the market, later this year.”

He said BMW Group Malaysia's stable of diesel models, which comprises the BMW 320d, 520d, 730d, X1 xDrive20d, X3 xDrive20d and BMW X5 3.0d, accounted for about 18% of the company's total sales volume.