BMW and MINI sales in 2005

BMW Group has achieved record UK sales in 2005 with over 156,000 BMW and MINI vehicle registrations, an increase of nine per cent compared to 2004 and in a market down by five per cent.

The BMW brand accounted for 111,639 registrations, an increase of nine per cent compared to 2004, while MINI recorded 44,757 registrations, its best annual sales performance since the vehicle’s UK launch in July 2001 and three per cent higher than in 2004.

Combined, the BMW and MINI brands accounted for 6.42 per cent of the total UK market in 2005 (BMW 4.58 per cent and MINI 1.84 per cent).

Significant contributions to BMW brand performance included:

The 3 Series Saloon, BMW’s best-selling model, recorded 24,187 registrations in 2005.
The new BMW X3 range delivered 7,532 registrations in its first full sales year.
The new BMW 1 Series achieved 22,021 registrations in its first full sales year.
5 Series Saloon and 5 Series Touring continued to perform strongly. The two models combined posted a nine per cent increase on the previous year’s sales total of 16,678 to reach 18,140 units in 2005.
7 Series posted a 40 per cent increase when compared to 2004 registering 2,017 vehicles.
X5 saw a 28 per cent increase in registrations during 2005, its sixth year of sales, with a record 10,804 vehicles registered.

2005 was the first full sales year for the MINI Convertible range in the UK. MINI Convertible is the best-selling soft top in the UK and its registrations accounted for

23 per cent of the total 2005 MINI registrations. Overall, MINI recorded a total of 44,757 registrations in the UK, a three per cent increase compared to 2004. The MINI Cooper continued to be the most popular model in the range.

In addition, a record 200,000 MINIs were manufactured at BMW Group Plant Oxford in 2005. A MINI UK production triangle is being established between the Oxford plant, the BMW Hams Hall engine plant near Coleshill and BMW Group’s pressings plant at Swindon in preparation for future model variants.

Jim O’Donnell, Managing Director BMW (UK) Limited commented, "2005 was an extremely competitive year but BMW and MINI have yet again achieved record sales.

Our product offensive will not stop in 2006 and will help us to consolidate our position as the leading manufacturer of premium vehicles."