BMW's January sales rise 18.7 pct, China up 80 pct
( 2002-02-09 11:11 ) (7 )

German luxury carmaker BMW said on Friday its worldwide sales surged 18.7 percent in January to 77,807 units, with significant gains in Asia, including China where sales roared up 80 percent.

Sales in Asia rose 21 percent to 4,300 units from 3,546 units in the same period a year ago, BMW said in a statement released at a Hong Kong media briefing.

``Business in China developed particularly well with a growth rate of 80.2 percent in January, Japan increased by 10.1 percent, South Korea up 33.3 percent,'' said Michael Ganal, a BMW management board member responsible for sales and marketing.

The China gains are due to the reduction of import tariffs following China's accession to the World Trade Organisation in December. Tariffs fell to 43.8-50.7 percent from 70-80 percent, bringing down retail prices by 14-16 percent, BMW officials said.

BMW is looking to use Asia as a platform for growth, but Ganal offered little news about the company's efforts to launch a Chinese manufacturing joint venture with Brilliance China

Discussions on the project with Chinese authorities are still in progress and BMW is ``patient enough to wait'' for an approval, Ganal said.

The project has been in the works for more than a year and would bring BMW on a similar footing with German rival Volkswagen AG, which is now producing Audi luxury cars in.

BMW officials did not say how much may be invested in the project, nor which models it will produce.

Ganal did say, however, that the group would invest about 16 billion euros (US$14 billion) in new capacity and markets over the next six years, including China. This is in addition to spending of 10 billion euro on new products.

BMW intends to use local production to serve the China market, and will use its new plant in Thailand, which produces 3-series cars, as an export base for other Asian markets, Ganal said.

GLOBAL GAINS

For all of last year, BMW global vehicle sales rose 10.2 percent to over 905,000 units, with much of the growth attributed to popular new models such as the X5 sport utility vehicle, the new Mini small car and the just-launched 7-Series flagship cars.

``Our strong sales world wide allow me to confirm that BMW group is heading for a new record in business results for the 2001,'' Ganal said in a statement.

Defying economic gloom elsewhere in the automotive industry, he said BMW expected continued growth in 2002.

``We see a positive development in 2002 for the global demand for the premium vehicles hence the BMW Group is confident for the 2002 regarding its business. We assume that our course of growth will continue,'' Ganal said.

Total sales last year in Asia rose to 61,600, an increase of some 5.7 percent, and brought BMW back to around its pre-Asian crisis volume. It claims about 20 percent of the region's luxury car market.

Ganal told reporters that 2002 was still expected to be a difficult year in Asia, especially in southeast Asian countries, which depend heavily on the US economy.

In Japan, after 2001 sales remained flat at about 36,200, BMW expects to increase its sales volume significantly, especially with the introduction of the 7-Series and the Mini.

Even before the redesign, Japan was the largest market for the old Mini outside of England for a number of years.

In China, the company will continue to expand its sales base, boosting the number of outlets to 29 by year end from 20 now, Ganal said.