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BMW widens sales gap over Audi in May
BMW widens sales gap over Audi in May
BMW AG widened it's lead in sales over smaller rival Audi in May although growth slowed at both of the German premium carmakers, company figures showed on Friday. Nearly 111,000 customers drove off in a new BMW in May, an increase of 2.0 percent mainly on higher demand for its 1 Series range. Sales of the brand's smallest model doubled last month, accounting for a fifth of all deliveries. BMW reported a 2.9 percent gain in sales of its full-size X5 sport utility and said customers were lining up for its newest offroad model, which debuted in late April. "Our order books for the X6 are already full for the rest of 2008,"
BMW sales boss Ian Robertson said in a statement. Dubbed a "sports activity coupe" due to a car-like silhouette which distinguishes it from other SUV crossovers, the company said some 2,650 X6s were sold over the past five weeks. BMW's growth last month outpaced a 0.8 percent gain at Audi, where sales rose to 88,200 vehicles as the changeover of its best-selling A4 model depressed demand. "We have set a sales target of one million vehicles for 2008, expecting strong year-on-year growth in the second half," Audi Chief Executive Rupert Stadler said in a statement, adding his company was ahead of schedule with respect to its forecast. Full availability of new A4 mid-size cars will provide a significant boost starting in August once production of its relaunched Avant estate version reaches full capacity, Audi said.
"The A4 Avant is critically important for our sales figures. In Europe alone, where we sell around 70 percent of our vehicles, the Avant accounts for 60 percent of our highest-volume model range," Audi's new sales boss Peter Schwarzenbauer said. In the first five months of the year, BMW brand sales gained 4.4 percent to 516,000 vehicles. Audi managed a 1.5 percent increase to 426,200 thanks mainly to a 23 percent gain in China and a surprising 4.9 percent gain in an otherwise weaker UK car market.
BMW's popular Mini enjoyed a 14 percent gain in sales to almost 22,700 cars helped by strong demand for the Clubman estate version, lifting year-to-date volumes by 20 percent to 102,360 units. Sales of its prestigious Rolls-Royce brand jumped 72 percent to 381 cars in the first five months. "This is the first time in the company's history that more than 600,000 vehicles have already been sold by the end of May," BMW said. German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz is expected to report global sales figures later on Friday. Shares in BMW were down 1.5 percent by 0852 GMT while stock in Audi parent Volkswagen was up 0.7 percent.