Rolls-Royce Dawn helps BMW post record sales

Demand for German car maker's namesake brand plus Mini and Rolls-Royce pushes deliveries to monthly and quarterly best ever result.

The Rolls-Royce Dawn has helped BMW to achieve record results. Courtesy Rolls-Royce
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The German premium car maker BMW Group has posted its best ever sales for March of 254,862 vehicles, a 5.9 per cent increase year-on-year.

It was also reported a record first quarter with sales of the BMW brands BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce increasing by 5.3 per cent.

Following the second-highest annual sales record in 2016, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars sales in the first quarter of 2017 were up year-on-year. This was based on full market availability of Dawn compared with the same period last year. In total, 733 Rolls-Royce cars were delivered to customers across the globe, a 33 per cent increase on the first quarter last year. Deliveries of the flagship BMW 7 Series grew 74.8 per cent.

A total of 587,237 vehicles have been delivered to customers around the world so far this year. with Asia posting particlularly strong results. In March the company sold 75,994 cars in Asia (excluding China and Japan), up 9.5 per cent on the same month last year and in the year to date it sold 199,845 vehicles, a rise of 9.2 per cent on the same period last year.

“We’ve achieved a strong start to the year, with our X-family models and the BMW 7 Series being the main growth drivers,” said Ian Robertson who heads sales and brand BMW. “March was the first full sales month for the new BMW 5 Series saloon and the customer feedback for this benchmark car is already very positive,” he said. “Our electrified models also continue to show extremely strong growth, with almost 20,000 sold in the first quarter, meaning we’re on track to achieve our target of 100,000 electrified vehicle sales this year. As we start the biggest model offensive the company has ever undertaken, I’m confident 2017 will be another record year for the BMW Group, retaining our leading position in the industry,” he added.

The BMW brand achieved its best-ever first quarter, cracking the half million mark for the first time this early in the year. Global BMW sales totalled 503,445 units, an increase of 5.2 per cent on the same period last year. Sales of BMW brand vehicles in March totalled 212,093, an increase of 5.3 per cent compared with the same month last year.

chnelson@thenational.ae

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