BMW South Africa is the favourite luxury car company in 2011 South Africa

Published by Gerald Ferreira Date: January 11, 2012
Categories: BMW, BMW Awards

The BMW Group sells more than 26,500 units in 2011 to top the premium segment for the second year in succession.
One in every three luxury cars sold is from the BMW Group.
The MINI brand experiences its best sales year ever with more than 2,500 MINIs sold.
Despite being in its run-out year, the BMW 3 Series Sedan is a major contributor to the overall success with almost 11,000 customers choosing the Ultimate Sports Sedan.

BMW South Africa Midrand/Rosslyn – Following a record sales year for BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce internationally, the BMW Group has once again emerged as South Africa’s favourite premium car company in 2011 as well.

This is the second year in succession that products from the BMW Group are South Africa’s best-selling luxury car brands, after a best-ever year for the MINI brand and the third-best year in history for the BMW brand.

The annual combined sales figures in South Africa showed a total of 26 508 units sold in 2011, resulting in a 12.8% growth compared to 2010, and showing clear leadership in the premium segment with one in every three premium cars sold coming from the BMW Group.

BMW Group South Africa Sales Figures
	2011	2010	Variance (%)
BMW	23,903	21,649	+10.4%
MINI	2,584	1,815	+42.4%
Rolls-Royce	21	28	-25.0%
	26,508	23,492	+12.8%

This success was also reflected in the official National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) registration numbers released earlier today, despite the fact that a major competitor is no longer reporting registrations to NAAMSA.

According to these statistics, the annual combined BMW Group sales figures in South Africa showed a total of 26 069 units registered in 2011, resulting in a 6.8% growth compared to 2010. This performance resulted in the BMW Group having a total premium segment share of 33.9 % and an overall market share of 7.9%.

BMW in South-Africa

“The motor industry is a key sector for South Africa, with a great deal of significance for the local economy,” explains BMW Managing Director, Bodo Donauer. “With this in mind, the BMW Group remains committed to transparency and will continue to report registration figures to NAAMSA. These figures are a credible and valued barometer for the state of the economy and we hope that all competitors will be able to continue contributing to these results to show a true reflection of the state of the local motor industry.

“That being said, I’m delighted that the BMW Group is not only the world’s leading provider of premium products and services for individual mobility in 2011 but that one in every three premium vehicles sold in South Africa was from the BMW Group. This is the second year in a row that BMW Group vehicles have been South Africa’s most successful, regardless of which set of figures are used to determine the industry leaders,” Donauer continues.

BMW Group South Africa NAAMSA Registrations*
	2011	2010	Variance (%)
BMW	23,560	22,622	+4.1%
MINI	2,509	1,783	+40.7%
	26,069	24,405	+6.8%

*Registration figures according to NAAMSA results released on 10 January 2012.

The success of the BMW Group’s sales in 2011 can be attributed to one of the youngest premium vehicle model line-ups available and robust demand for the many new vehicles the company launched in 2011.

Substantial demand for the BMW 3 Series Sedan, the new BMW 5 Series and BMW X models such as the BMW X1, the new BMW X3, the BMW X5 and the BMW X6 were the major drivers behind the overall performance of the BMW brand in 2011, with 23 903 units sold in 2011 (up 10.4% from 2010).

At the same time, the MINI brand enjoyed its best-ever sales year – with the first full year of MINI Countryman sales and the launch of the MINI One – with 2584 units sold in 2011, a massive increase of 42.4% compared to 2010.

“The BMW 6 Series Convertible, the BMW 6 Series Coupe, the facelift of the BMW 1 Series Coupe and Convertible and a brand-new second generation BMW 1 Series hatchback were all added to the BMW line-up in 2011,” explains Donauer.

“The MINI One and the MINI Coupe also made their debut and these models certainly played a major role in the success of MINI, along with the first full-year of sales for the MINI Countryman. The new models, combined with very strong demand for our X models and the BMW 3 Series and 5 Series sedans were the catalyst for another market-leading sales performance,” says Donauer.

bmw

Looking ahead

“In 2011, the BMW brand managed to be the best-selling brand in the premium segment despite the fact that our volume seller, the BMW 3 Series Sedan, was in its run-out year. In March, we will officially launch the brand-new BMW 3 Series Sedan, which is undeniably the most innovative, efficient and dynamic of the competitors in this segment. I’m positive that the new car will have a significant impact on our sales successes in 2012 and beyond,” he continues.

Donauer also points out that several other new vehicle launches will stand the BMW Group in good stead in the coming year.

The new BMW M5, further derivatives of the new BMW 1 Series hatch, the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe, the MINI Roadster and the company’s first locally sold hybrid model, the BMW 5 Series ActiveHybrid, are all set for local launch in the coming months. Another very exciting announcement for 2012 is that the BMW Group is bringing a MINI E e-mobility market study to South Africa in the coming year, in line with its Sustainable Future announcements at COP 17 in December 2011.

“Whilst changes in economic conditions may change the overall outlook for growth in 2012, I’m confident about what the year ahead holds both locally and internationally. With our exciting model line-up, as well as our local e-mobility initiatives which reinforce the BMW Group’s position as the world’s most sustainable automaker, I’m positive that the BMW and MINI brands will continue to enjoy growth throughout 2012 and will once again lead the premium segment in the year ahead.”