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May 07May 15, 2003
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This Week:

• Lightning Strikes As Centenary Concept Demonstrates Vauxhall Renaissance

• 7G-TRONIC: Mercedes-Benz presents the world's first seven-speed automatic transmission for passenger cars

• Toyota V8 Engine Production Begins In Alabama

• BMW Group Sales to End of April Remain Stable

• Ford Opens New R&D Centre In Windsor For Engine & Transmission Testing

• Mercedes-Benz unveils the Viano and the new Vito

• General Motors Will Equip 2004 Model Year 15-Passenger Vans With Vehicle Stability Enhancement System

• 2003 Honda Odyssey and Accord Coupe Achieve All-Around Five Star Safety

• GM Demonstrates Hybrids And Fuel Cell Vehicles In Green Transportation Event: Tour De Sol

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BMW Group Sales to End of April Remain Stable
 

Munich - In the run-up to the market launch of the new BMW 5 Series in the middle of the year, the BMW Group has recorded stable sales levels in the first four months of the current year. Altogether in the period up to the end of April, 353,430 BMW and MINI brand automobiles were delivered to customers (previous year: 355,350). This is a slight decrease of 0.5% over the same period last year. Sales in April reached 91,840 vehicles, which is 3.4% below the level of the same month last year (95,080). BMW brand business continued to be dominated mainly by the effects of model cycles in the period up to the end of April. Sales of the BMW 5 Series were tending to tail off shortly before the launch of the successor model. The Coupé and Cabrio variants of the BMW 3 Series and the 3 Series Compact were launched at the end of March in Europe, after the latest model update, and were therefore not yet available in all markets in April. Only when the new 5 Series saloon becomes fully available during the second half of the year along with the updated 3 Series models will sales of the BMW brand once again rise above the corresponding levels of the previous year.

Against this background, 7.3% fewer BMW brand vehicles (293,290) left the dealerships in the first four months of the year than in the corresponding period last year (previous year: 316,370). In April, the decrease was 7.2% to 77,510 units (previous year: 83,570).

Demand for MINI as strong as ever

Demand for the MINI worldwide continues to be as strong as ever. In the period up to the end of April, 60,130 MINI brand vehicles were delivered to customers. This is an increase of 54.3% over the previous year (38,980). The trend towards the higher-value models is also continuing: total sales of MINI up to and including April can be broken down into 32,650 MINI Cooper (54.5%), 13,860 MINI One (23%) and 13,620 Cooper S (22.5%). In April itself, the increase in MINI sales was 24.5% (14,320 / previous year: 11,510). The launch of the Diesel variant in European markets later this month will give an additional boost to MINI sales.

Assuming that the world political situation continues to stabilise in the future and that economic and sociopolitical reforms are implemented in Germany, the Company still considers that all BMW Group brands will exceed last year's volumes.

Against the background of downward tendencies in the international motorcycle markets, the high level of the previous year could not quite be maintained in the motorcycles segment in the first four months of 2003. Sales fell by 4.5% to 32,030 units (previous year: 33,540). In April itself, the decline was 5.7% to 11,130 units (previous year: 11,810).

(May 09, 2003)