BMW third-quarter sales grow 4.5 per cent

BMW Group revenues increased in the third quarter by 4.5 per cent on the back of higher sales volume to €19.6 billion compared with one year earlier (2013: €18.751 billion). 

Profit before financial result (EBIT) rose by 17.1% to €2.256 billion (2013: €1.926 million) thanks to a higher-value model mix. Group profit before tax (EBT) rose by 1.2 per cent to €2.013 billion (2013: €1.989 billion).

All three figures constituted new highs to date for a third quarter. Group net profit was slightly lower than the previous year at €1.314 billion (2013: €1.330 billion, down 1.2 per cent) due to the higher income tax expense. The operating margin (EBIT) for the Group was 11.5 per cent (2013: 10.3 per cent).

The total number of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles delivered to customers worldwide increased year-on-year by 5.8% during the period from July to September to a new record of 509,669 units (2013: 481,657 units).

Nine-month revenues grew by 3.4 per cent to €57,740 billion (2013: €55.849 billion). EBIT increased 15.2 per cent to €6.949 billion (2013: €6.030 billion) and profit before tax by 13.5 per cent to €6.839 billion (2013: €6.024 billion). These figures also marked new all-time highs for a first nine-month period. 

Group net profit improved by 12.7 per cent to €4.547 billion (2013: €4.034 billion).

The number of vehicles sold in the first nine months increased by 6.5 per cent to a new record figure of 1,529,880 units (2013: 1,436,178 units).

The operating margin (EBIT) for the period from January to September came in at 12.0% (2013: 10.8%).

BMW brand held on to its pole position in the premium segment throughout the period under report by posting new record sales volume figures.

Sales climbed 6.9 per cent to 433,145 units (2013: 405,350 units) in the third quarter and by 9.1 per cent to 1,319,492 (2013: 1,209,598 units) over the nine-month period. Good contributions to this performance were made by the BMW 3, 4, 5 Series and the X5, each of which head the world market in its own segment.

Sales of the BMW 3 Series in the period from January to September were slightly lower than one year earlier at 353,078 units (2013: 365,772 units, a drop of 3.5 per cent).

It should be noted that the Coupé and Convertible variants are now included as part of the BMW 4 Series. The BMW 4 Series has proved highly popular since its market launch in autumn 2013, with a total of 81,876 units delivered to customers in the period from January to September. The BMW 5 Series also continues to sell well, with nine-month sales up by 2.8% to 278,479 units (2013: 270,902 units).

The various models of the BMW X family also continue to enjoy a high degree of popularity. Sales of the BMW X1 edged up in the first nine months of the year by 0.2% to 116,722 units (2013: 116,451 units), while those of the BMW X3 increased by 1.8 per cent to a total of 116,015 units (2013: 113,945 units). Since its market launch in summer, sales volume of the BMW X4 has already reached 7,199 units. Sales of the BMW X5 jumped 34.2 per cent  to 104,997 units (2013: 78,244 units).

Sales of BMW i3 since the beginning of the year surpassed the 10,000 mark in September. In total, 10,199 units of this innovative electric vehicle were sold during the nine-month period. Following the market launch in the USA and Japan in the second quarter, the BMW i3 has also been available in China since October. 341 units of the BMW i8, launched in June, had been delivered to customers by the end of September.

The number of MINI brand vehicles sold in the third quarter edged up by 0.2% to 75,633 units (2013: 75,482 units). Sales of the core model, the MINI Hatch, in the three-month period rose by 12.4 per cent to 36,452 units (2013: 32,436 units). In line with expectations, sales of the MINI brand in the first nine months of the year were lower at 207,529 units (2013: 224,280 units, a drop of 7.5 per cent) owing to the change of the brand's core model.

Over the full year, however, MINI sales are likely to be back to the high level reported for the previous year. One of a number of models expected to generate tailwind in this period is the new MINI 5-door, which made its first appearance in the European showrooms at the end of October.

In the ultra-luxury segment, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars increased worldwide sales by 8.0 per cent to 891 units (2013: 825 units) in the third quarter and by 24.3 per cent to 2,859 units (2013: 2,300 units) in the nine-month period.

In Europe, the number of BMW Group vehicles sold increased to a total of 663,407 units (2013: 641,537 units).

Since the beginning of the year, the BMW Group has sold a total of 482,718 units (2013: 422,777 units) in Asia, surpassing the previous year's nine-month figure by 14.2 per cent.

The BMW Group also increased sales volume in the Americas region during the first nine months of the year, with the number of vehicles sold 3.7 per cent higher at 337,852 units (2013: 325,677 units). Sales volume in the USA grew 5.2 per cent and reached 276,491 units (2013: 262,745 units) for the nine-month period.