M3 STILL KING OF ALL M CARS

BMW M GmbH concluded the 2010 business year with a significant boost in sales. In a year marked by far-reaching changes in the model portfolio, the number of BMW M car sales rose by 14.2% to 16 967 units. Overall, worldwide growth in demand for high-performance sports cars, M Sport packages, exclusive special options from BMW Individual as well as driving experience training courses contributed to this positive development.

Considerable growth impulses are also anticipated for 2011 thanks to an extended M Sport package and BMW Individual product range and the launch of the BMW 1 Series M Coupé, which takes the company into a new vehicle segment. Beyond this, the development of special task and security vehicles based on current BMW production models will also fall within the remit of BMW M GmbH in future.

The 14.2% global growth in new car registrations posted by the BMW AG subsidiary last year – which precisely matches the growth rate of the BMW Group as a whole – bears witness to the enduringly strong fascination exerted by these high-performance sports cars. The production phase-out of the BMW M5 and BMW M6 models was more than compensated for by a consistently high demand for the BMW M3 and the newly introduced all-wheel-drive models BMW X5 M and BMW X6 M. Yet again the BMW M3 demonstrated its status as the most popular ambassador for the M ethos. Worldwide, 5 729 units of the BMW M3 Coupé were sold, to which were added 2 544 units of the BMW M3 Convertible and 1 843 BMW M3 Saloons. Sales of the BMW X5 M and BMW X6 M totalled 2 778 and 3 082 respectively.

The most important single market in 2010 was once again the USA, where overall BMW M car sales rose by more than 6% to 6 821. The number two sales region, as before, was the German domestic market with sales of 1 716 cars, followed by Britain and Northern Ireland with 1 264 units. The most dynamic growth by far was seen in the Chinese car market, where sales rose by 355% to 1 088 units, making China the fourth-strongest market for BMW M cars. BMW M GmbH also registered outstanding growth rates in Brazil (+ 237%) and Russia (+ 104%).

In terms of sales of the M Sport packages – now available for virtually all the model ranges – BMW M GmbH also recorded positive growth in the last financial year. The model-specific development of aerodynamics, chassis, exterior and interior components lends attractive highlights to ultra-sporty driving pleasure across all the vehicle categories, and the range of options on offer is steadily expanding. The spectrum currently ranges from the BMW 1 Series to the BMW 7 Series, and also encompasses the BMW Z4 and the BMW X5. 2011 will see the BMW X3 and BMW X1 models added to the list.

In total, the number of M Sport packages produced in 2010 rose by 1% to 138 800. The main market for M Sport packages was Britain and Northern Ireland, followed by Germany and the USA. These markets once again posted a growth in figures for 2010, with the biggest percentage increases shown by the Korean car market (+ 411%) and China (+ 125%) and Russia (+ 107%).

STORY BY BMW