May 4, 2017
New sales volume, revenues and earnings records in first quarter
First-quarter deliveries of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles rose by 5.3% to 587,237 units (2016: 557,605 units). All the Group's major sales regions contributed to this increase. Thanks to this strong performance, Group revenues for the period from January to March were significantly higher at € 23,448 million (2016: € 20,853 million; +12.4%). Profit before financial result amounted to € 2,646 million, 7.7% up on the previous year’s corresponding figure of € 2,457 million. Group profit before tax (EBT) was also significantly higher at € 3,005 million (2016: € 2,368 million). This significant increase was largely due to the following effects: a positive valuation effect of € 183 million in connection with the participation of new investors in the mapping service HERE, an increase in the other financial result of € 122 million, driven mainly by valuation effects, and a higher profit contribution from the Chinese joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. As a result, the Group’s EBT margin climbed to 12.8% (2016: 11.4%) in the first quarter. Group net profit rose by 31.0% to € 2,149 million (2016: € 1,641 million).
“The first quarter results lay a very sound foundation for us to achieve our ambitious targets for 2017. Given that the BMW Group is embarking on the biggest model offensive in its corporate history, we expect start-up and marketing costs regarding new models to increase over the course of the year. We will also incur high upfront expenditure in connection with electric mobility and autonomous driving,” pointed out Nicolas Peter, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Finance. “Short-term gain is not the decisive factor for us: we remain focussed on sustainable, profitable growth.”
BMW Group vehicles with electrified drivetrains performed particularly well during the first quarter, as nearly 20,000 BMW i3, BMW i8 and BMW iPerformance plug-in hybrids were sold, twice the previous year’s corresponding figure. “We are therefore well on course to delivering more than 100,000 electrified vehicles for the first time in 2017,” Krüger stated.
Electrified vehicles accounted for more than three per cent of all BMW Group vehicle deliveries to customers in the first quarter (Q1 2016: 1.7%).
With the launch of the BMW i3 almost four years ago, the BMW Group was an early pioneer of electric mobility and has remained true to its strategy ever since. When the first MINI brand plug-in hybrid model is introduced in summer 2017, the BMW Group will have nine electrified models in its portfolio. The BMW i8 Roadster is set to follow in the coming year and the first all-electric MINI is due in 2019. In 2020, the battery-powered BMW X3 will integrate all-electric mobility into the Group’s core brand. One year later, the new BMW iNEXT is set to take to the roads. As the BMW Group’s new technological spearhead, it will set the benchmark in the future-oriented ACES fields Autonomous, Connected, Electrified and Services/Shared.
Deliveries of BMW brand vehicles totalled 503,445 units (2016: 478,743; +5.2%), surpassing the half-million figure for the first time in an opening quarter. Sales volume growth came from various areas, including good contributions made by the BMW Group’s flagship model, the BMW 7 Series, and the BMW X-family models. Nearly 16,000 units of the BMW 7 Series were sold, 50.2% more than one year earlier. Sales of the BMW X1 jumped by 29.5% to 66,063 units in the first quarter. Similarly, the BMW X3 (41,742 units; +7.8%) and the BMW X5 (45,892 units; +17.7%) also recorded significant growth.
Sales of 83,059 units during the first three months 2017 also represented a new first-quarter sales volume record for the MINI brand (2016: 78,311 units; +6.1%). The new MINI Clubman reported a significant rise, with deliveries to customers increasing to 14,830 units (2016: 12,173 units; +21.8%). First-quarter sales of the new MINI Convertible tripled to 7,705 units (2016: 2,553 units). With 47,530 units sold, the MINI 3 and 5 door models matched their previous year’s performance (2016: 47,396 units; +0.3%).
Following the second highest annual sales 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 motor cars were delivered to customers across the globe (+33.0%). Demand for Rolls-Royce models remains strong in most regions, although this is set against ongoing market volatility in the global luxury industry as a whole. Rolls-Royce continues to strive for long-term sustainable growth.
The BMW Group's upward sales volume trend continued in Europe, with 267,996 units (2016: 257,120 units) delivered to customers during the first three-month period, up 4.2% year-on-year. Solid growth was reported in a number of markets, including Great Britain (+6.5%; 63,004 units), France (+5.4%; 21,943 units) and Italy (+6.7%; 21,278 units).
First-quarter sales of BMW Group vehicles in Asia rose by 9.2% to surpass the 200,000-unit mark (200,140 units; 2016: 183,204 units). Significant growth was also achieved on the Chinese mainland, where sales climbed by 12.4% to 142,958 units. First-quarter deliveries in Japan went up by 5.2% to 19,681 units.
Sales in the Americas region increased slightly by 2.0% to 102,238 units (2016: 100,245 units), including 82,169 units delivered to customers in the USA (+0.7%).