BMW Japan used car Blog

By Bertel Schmitt

The Japanese government floated a highly interesting idea in Geneva. It could possibly revolutionize international car trade. Except for the United States. According to today’s Nikkei, the Japanese government has proposed that the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations, a working party of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, create a system for international whole vehicle type approval. The UNECE immediately began looking into the idea last Saturday, and as per the Nikkei, by Saturday evening, “a majority of the member countries had agreed to the proposal.” That was fast.

It did not need much work: An international mutual recognition framework already exists for automobile components. The USA and Canada are absent from this framework. Says the Nikkei: “But for vehicles themselves, automakers have to obtain for each model approval from their own government as well as the governments of the countries to which they export.” Well, not exactly.

In Europe exists something called European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA). A car that is legal in one country of the EU is automatically legal in the whole EU. The ECWVTA relies heavily on the UNECE framework and embodies most UNECE regulations into the Whole Vehicle Type Approval process. But, this applies only to Europe. The idea of a (more or less) worldwide Whole Vehicle Type Approval scheme had been floated at several times. It received the cold shoulder, especially from Japan. Until late, Japan, although a signatory to UNECE, had been dragging its heels. By the end of 2008, Japan had included only 35 of the 127 existing ECE regulations in its JASIC rules.

Recently, Japan became more activist. They made advances to include their EV standards into the ECE rules. When this happened, TTAC opined: “Hopefully, worldwide adoption of Japan’s standards for hybrid and electric vehicles will entice Japan to adopt more ECE rules. It would be a big step towards a world of internationally accepted safety and emission regulations, a world from which the U.S.A. decided to isolate itself.”

It is highly interesting that the initiative for an UNECE-wide whole car type approval comes from Japan at a time when its industry receives heavy flak from the U.S. As you can see from the immediate reaction, the other UNECE members had just been waiting for this. Adoption is basically guaranteed. This would allow manufacturers from other UNECE member countries instant access to Japan and South Korea, which currently have their own stringent type approval rules. It also would open the doors to the 52 member countries of UNECE.

Who will be left out (most likely to loud protestations)? The USA and Canada. The USA had deliberately chosen not to join UNECE. Canada, which is an adjunct of the U.S. auto industry, had no other choice and remained a non-member. Under Whole Vehicle Type Approval rules, a car is rigorously tested by a government agency before it is admitted to the road. The U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSSs) embody no such checking.

NHTSA proudly proclaims on their website: “It is the responsibility of a manufacturer of vehicles and/or items of motor vehicle equipment to certify that each motor vehicle and/or equipment item is in full compliance with the minimum performance requirements of all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSSs). This is a self-certification process as opposed to the type approval process which is used in some other countries such as Japan. The NHTSA does not issue approval tags, stickers or labels for vehicles or equipment items before or after the first sale. In order to provide certification, the manufacturer takes whatever actions it deems appropriate.” This policy is a disaster waiting to happen, and it is just as ambulance-chasing attorneys want it.

If UNECE goes to Whole Vehicle Type Approval Certification, manufacturers of member states will have zero time to other UNECE markets, whereas US manufacturers must go through a separate type approval process and manufacture their export cars according to the worldwide standard.

America becomes increasingly isolationist; the rest of the world closes ranks and becomes more open – towards the rest of the world.

By CHRISTOPH RAUWALD

FRANKFURT—Slowing economic growth and worries about government finances on both sides of the Atlantic are weighing on the car sector, but analysts say shares in German car makers are less vulnerable than others in Europe.

They argue Volkswagen AG, VOW3.XE +0.46%BMW AG BMW.XE +0.50% and, to a lesser extent, Daimler AG, DAI.XE +0.07% benefit from their firm grip on the lucrative luxury-car segment, a large footprint in dynamic markets abroad and healthy balance sheets.

In addition, domestic demand in their home market has been relatively resilient. Sales in several other large European markets have cratered.   Many analysts favor BMW and Volkswagen stock, saying the factors that fueled their shares this year should remain in place into 2013. Both stocks have outpaced the sector and the broader market this year. BMW’s shares have risen 29% this year, as drivers flock to new models across its major product lines.   “We continue to regard BMW as the best-in-class company, said Max Warburton, an analyst with Sanford Bernstein.

Volkswagen’s preference stock (its main listed security) is up 41%, driven by higher sales at its Audi premium unit and gains in market share across the globe. It is one of the biggest brands in the fast-growing Chinese market, with 21% of the market.   But PSA Peugeot-Citroën SA, UG.FR +1.93%Fiat SpA F.MI -0.75% and Renault SA, RNO.FR +0.52% which largely focus on the mass market in Europe, are struggling with contracting demand at home and are losing market share to low-cost South Korean rivals Kia Motors Corp. 000270.SE -0.50% and Hyundai Motor Co. 005380.SE -0.22%

Fiat does benefit from solid sales at U.S. affiliate Chrysler LLC, and Renault can to some extend cushion the impact of falling sales in its biggest markets through its alliance with Japanese car maker Nissan Motor Co. 7201.TO -1.28% At both, those earnings can’t completely compensate for the plunge in their European businesses.

Overall, new-car registrations in Italy have plunged nearly 20% in the first 10 months of the year from a year earlier, according to the ACEA, the industry’s European trade group. French new-car registrations have skidded 13%. But they are down just 1.6% in Germany.

Nor is business likely to improve next year. Demand for new cars across western Europe is likely to fall further in 2013, to the lowest level in 20 years, R.L. Polk analyst Ulrich Winzen said.   While appetite for upscale vehicles remains robust in markets such as China, North America and Russia, the key risk for all European car makers remains demand across Western Europe. There, the pricing pressure in the high-volume segment has started to spill over into the less-price-sensitive luxury-car segment, where manufacturers are needing to offer more incentives and discounts.

The impact has been most acute at Daimler, which acknowledged in September that full-year earnings at its core Mercedes-Benz Cars division will be lower than anticipated, as drivers pass up its relatively old model line-up and wait for its new S-class model next year. A month later, it cut its forecast for groupwide earnings after fierce price pressure led to a surprisingly steep drop in third-quarter profit.

Mercedes-Benz lost the No. 2 spot among the world’s premium car makers last year to Audi. It has continued to lag behind BMW and Audi both in sales volume and profit this year, despite reaping more revenue per car.   Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche has vowed that Mercedes-Benz will reclaim the top spot in the premium segment no later than 2020. But many investors and analysts are doubtful he can pull it off.   “Catching up is not easy to do in these markets, meaning the near-perfect execution of VW and BMW will likely remain highly prized,” Morgan StanleyMS +0.12% analyst Stuart Pearson said in a note to clients. He rates VW shares as a “buy,” and both BMW and Daimler stock as “hold”.

Another weak spot is Daimler’s larger exposure to the global economic slowdown through its truck operations, the world’s largest maker of commercial vehicles by revenue. Demand for transportation of goods tends to mirror the health of the broader economy, and sales in the big markets of Brazil and Western Europe have been falling.   But the car giant’s problems may extend beyond its line-up.

“We question whether Mercedes’ shortcomings are cyclical or structural,” said Erich Hauser, an analyst at Credit SuisseCSGN.VX +1.36% who gives the stock a “neutral” rating. Daimler lacks the strong family anchor investors with seats on the supervisory board that BMW and VW have and which have kept a close eye on management, he said.

“Higher capital expenditure per unit, lower productivity per worker, and continued product shortcomings will not be addressed through [sales] growth alone, and as a result we believe Daimler will continue to underperform peers,” he said.

By Mark Clothier

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW)’s BMW U.S. sales rose 21 percent in October, narrowing the lead of Daimler AG (DAI)’s Mercedes-Benz in luxury-auto deliveries this year.

Sales for BMW climbed to 26,451 vehicles last month, boosted by a 26 percent gain for its 3-Series. Mercedes yesterday reported a 5.9 percent increase from a year earlier to 23,978, helped by updated versions of the C-Class small sedan. Toyota Motor Corp. (7203)’s Lexus rose 9.7 percent to 19,850.

The October results trimmed Mercedes’s lead to 2,748 vehicles, from 5,221 at the end of September. The two German automakers are vying to be the No. 1 luxury-auto brand in the U.S. after BMW outsold Lexus last year. Lexus, hurt in 2011 by vehicle shortages following natural disasters in Asia, had been the top-selling luxury brand in the U.S. for 11 years.

“What is going to be interesting is what will happen for the rest of the year,” Jesse Toprak, vice president of market intelligence at TrueCar.com, said in an interview. “The areas impacted by the hurricane are significant selling regions for the luxury-auto makers.”

Mercedes U.S. sales through October rose 12 percent to 215,596, according to the Stuttgart, Germany-based automaker. Munich-based BMW posted a 6.7 percent increase to 212,848. For all of 2011, BMW outsold Mercedes in the U.S. by 2,715 vehicles.

The sales results don’t include Daimler’s cargo vans and Smart cars and BMW’s Mini brand, which aren’t luxury vehicles.

The luxury sales competition normally intensifies during the final three months of the year.

Sandy’s Impact
Superstorm Sandy hit the mid-Atlantic, which Toprak estimates is home to as much as 25 percent of U.S. luxury vehicle sales. The storm’s aftermath should slow sales in the first half of this month, then boost deliveries in December as consumers replaced totaled vehicles, he said.

“For luxury vehicles, I expect it will be a net positive for the year because of replacement of total-loss vehicles,” he said.

Ford Motor Co. (F) sold 5,154 Lincolns in October, a 15 percent decrease from a year earlier, according to a statement yesterday from the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker.

General Motors Co. (GM)’s Cadillac rose 14 percent to 13,505 vehicles in October, helped by an 11 percent gain in sales of the SRX crossover SUV and the new ATS compact sedan, the Detroit-based automaker said in a statement.

Sales of Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co. (7267)’s Acura brand rose 9.4 percent to 12,163 last month, the company said in a statement.

Nissan Motor Co.’s Infiniti sold 8,757 vehicles last month, a 28 percent gain from a year earlier, the Yokohama, Japan-based company said in a statement yesterday.

U.S. sales of Volkswagen AG (VOW)’s Audi brand rose 15 percent last month to 11,708, the company said in a statement.

Porsche AG, the Stuttgart-based automaker that is now part of VW, sold 3,211 vehicles in the U.S. last month, a 41 percent increase, the company said in a statement.

By Michael Northcott

The BMW group has wooed investors today, after announcing a big boost to pre-tax profits in its third quarter, up 17.6% to €1.99bn compared with the same period last year. Predictably, the firm puts a large proportion of the growth down to the fast growing market of Asia: in China, sales rose 33.3% to Almost 238,000 units. In Europe meanwhile, there was only a 0.8% increase in sales. Not surprising given the state of the economy. It’s probably fair to say that rioters in Madrid are not eyeing up an M-Series – at least not to buy…

BMW’s results are a surprise to the stock market, since Bloomberg analysts were predicting profits of €1.74bn. The strength of BMW’s third quarter is also in stark contrast with Mercedes-Benz, which shocked the market in October by cutting its 2012 earning guidance, and delaying publishing a 2013 profit margin target because ‘the achievement of those targets has become much more challenging due to the significantly more difficult market conditions prevailing at present.’ Which all makes BMW seems the more attractive proposition for investment.

Meanwhile, in exactly the same market, Nissan is having a nightmare. The Japanese firm has had to cut its full-year profits forecast by a massive 20% because of a growing boycott of Japanese car manufacturers in China. This is not a small problem for Nissan, since the Chinese market accounts for around 25% of its total global sales. The firm said the financial year ending March 2013 would yield net profit of Y320bn, down from an earlier projection of Y400bn. All of Japan’s carmakers have been affected by a consumer backlash across China except Diplomatic car sales in Japan, prompted by a spat over who owns a group of islands (Senkaku or Diaoyu, depending on who’s side you take) in the East China Sea. They are controlled by Tokyo, but Beijing claims that they are Chinese territory.

Closer to home, car sales are climbing in the UK. The car manufacturing lobby group SMMT said the number of new car registrations rose 12.1% to 151,000 units in October, compared with the same period the previous year. The lobby group says that this outpaces year-long average in the UK so far for 2012, as well as bucking the trend in Europe.

Munich. DriveNow, the premium car-sharing joint venture by BMW Group  and Sixt AG, was acknowledged as the best new corporate venture at the  2012 Corporate Entrepreneur Awards by Market Gravity and Wired Magazine.

More than 200 business leaders and entrepreneurs gathered at the  Design Museum in London to celebrate the individuals and organisations  that are transforming the business landscape and delivering  breakthrough growth in large businesses through innovative ventures,  reinventions and a forward-thinking culture.

The judges were especially impressed by the way BMW Group is  challenging the traditional vehicle ownership model and by its  willingness to trial other models. This was viewed as outstanding in  an industry that is notoriously competitive. “We are aiming to become  the leading provider of both premium vehicles and premium services for  personal mobility”, says Dr. Bernhard Blaettel from BMW Group. “Our  goal is to get our customers to their destinations faster, more  reliably and in greater comfort. DriveNow stands only at the beginning  of many innovations we will be launching under BMW i.”

Phil Clarke, partner at Market Gravity, was impressed by the high  quality of all the nominations received this year. “It’s incredible to  see the calibre of innovation happening across Europe. Market Gravity  was founded and exists to help corporate entrepreneurs in their  game-changing business efforts, so it’s exciting to be able to honour  their work. It takes an entrepreneurial mindset and real determination  to grow new businesses from within, and success provides jobs and  prosperity in Europe and beyond.”

About DriveNow

The DriveNow premium car-sharing model is a modern mobility concept  that combines high-quality vehicles and service with simple, flexible  usage. DriveNow is the first car-sharing concept to focus consistently  on highly-efficient premium vehicles and comprehensive service.  DriveNow was launched in Germany in June 2011 as a car-sharing joint  venture between the BMW Group and the car rental company Sixt AG. The  BMW Group offers DriveNow under its BMW i sub-brand. BMW i also  delivers innovative mobility services that reinforce the BMW parent  brand’s position as a sustainable, future-oriented brand.

DriveNow now has almost 60,000 members and is available in Munich,  Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf and San Francisco.

About the Corporate Entrepreneur Awards

In its third year, the Corporate Entrepreneur Awards recognise and  celebrate the achievements of individuals and teams who are working  hard within large companies to deliver game-changing innovation and  growth. Winners were recognised in four categories: best new corporate  venture; best reinvention of an existing product or service line; best  example of building an entrepreneurial culture; and a new award for  2012, the Wired People’s Choice Award, voted by attendees at the  event. More than 30 brands submitted nominations across the categories.

The Corporate Entrepreneur Awards are by Market Gravity, a specialist  consultancy focused on growth and innovation and Wired Magazine, a  monthly publication that reports primarily on the effects of science  and technology.

By David Shepardson

BMW AG said Thursday it is recalling 7,485 2005-07 7-Series vehicles that may have a software glitch that may allow the doors to inadvertently open when they appear closed.

BMW says “the door may unexpectedly open due to road or driving conditions or occupant contact with the door. The sudden opening may result in occupant ejection or increase the risk of injury in the event of a crash.”

The German automaker said the recall covers vehicles equipped with both Comfort Access and Soft Close Automatic options, and built from August 2004 through September 2007.

The automaker says no crashes or injuries have been reported related to the condition.

The recall is taking place five years after BMW recalled vehicles in Japan and five years after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration first asked BMW about the issue.

In May 2007, the Japanese Ministry of Land and Infrastructure Transport asked BMW about two complaints alleging inadvertent door opening on 7-Series vehicles in Japan.

Even though BMW didn’t think it was a safety issue, it ultimately recalled the vehicles in Japan in September 2007.

In October 2007, NHTSA contacted BMW about several field reports of the problem in the United States. BMW responded “but no further follow-up by the agency occurred,” the automaker said.

Between January and February 2008, NHTSA contacted BMW and asked if there would be any activity in the U.S. for the vehicles and asked about several other field reports of the issue.

BMW said it was going to issue a service bulletin that vehicles at the dealership for other reasons would receive updated software via a general software update.

BMW made a software update as part of production change in 2007 to address the issue.

NHTSA didn’t ask about the issue again until May 2011. Earlier this month, BMW met with NHTSA to discuss this issue.

BMW noted that about 70 to 80 percent of the affected vehicles had already received the remedy of updated software, but the company agreed to do a recall anyway.

In February, BMW agreed pay a $3 million penalty for failing to recall vehicles in a timely fashion.

Federal law requires all auto manufacturers to notify NHTSA within five business days of determining that a safety defect or noncompliance exists and to promptly conduct a recall.

NHTSA’s examination of 16 BMW recalls issued in 2010 found evidence of a number of instances where the automaker failed to report safety defects and recalls to the agency in accordance with federal law.

By Hannah Elliott

In the auto industry, as in politics, a third-party entry into a well-known, hotly contested race can cause significant consternation among the rank and file. Sometimes it’ll prove enough of a jolt to spoil the lead for a previously guaranteed winner.

American voters saw it when Ralph Nader broke up the deadlock between George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000. American drivers are seeing it this year, as Audi threatens to affect the years-long deadheat between BMW and Mercedes-Benz for luxury market supremacy.

According to monthly sales figures compiled by Autodata, Audi is closing in on BMW and Mercedes in the race to sell the most luxury cars on the market this year. It likely won’t surpass either in overall volume, but it will siphon sales off current leader BMW. Having a target of 200,000 annual sales by 2020, nearly double what it sells now, won’t hurt in the process.

“It’s really a slug-fest between BMW and Mercedes,” says Mike Wall, an auto analyst for IHS Automotive. “Audi is still down in the rankings, but boy they’re making a move.”
Move up to Move down 

Indeed, in a contest once dominated by Lexus, which was No. 1 for 11 years in a row but faltered after Japan’s 2011 earthquake, Audi has added a particular volatility that will make it difficult for BMW to repeat its top status.

“There’s going to be a lot of action before the year is over,” Wall says.

Consumers, at any rate, have much to gain from the contest. New products translate quickly into higher sales figures, as do technological and performance-driven upgrades. And in their competition to sell the most cars possible, luxury automakers worldwide are tightening the value of their products.

“There are a tremendous amount of new products coming out now,” says Thomas King, the senior director of automotive research at JD Power & Associates. “That bodes well for auto sales next year, absolutely.”

Behind the Numbers
In order to make this list we used data provided by Vincentric, an automotive consulting firm based in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Analysts there tallied the cost of ownership for each 2012 model-year vehicle by evaluating the manufacturer suggested retail price and five-year totals for fuel costs, maintenance, repairs, average national insurance rates, depreciation, interest, opportunity costs and taxes.

We assumed an annual rate of 15,000 miles driven per vehicle and a price of $3.718 for regular fuel, $3.997 for premium and $3.991 for diesel. We applied a national-average inflation rate of 3.5% for these fuel prices, since the calculations predict costs over five years. We evaluated only vehicles from recognized premium and luxury brands with base MSRPs of more than $50,000.

Top of the list are the BMW Z4, Audi A5 and Audi Q7 Diesel. They’re notable for better-than-average depreciation rates and superior reliability. Each has received an “excellent” valuation from Vincentric, the highest possible, with total five-year costs of less than $70,000.

The Q7 demonstrates one particular pocket of high value: the diesel engine. It and the Volkswagen Touareg Diesel are good buys, says David Wurster, the president of Vincentric, because while diesel technology tends to cost more initially than gasoline power the difference is quickly made up in fuel efficiency and reliability.

“Diesel engines always do well,” Wurster says. “There’s a little less maintenance with the diesel engine. They tend to hold their value.”

It’s no accident the Q7 made the cut this year—Audi has done all it can to make its vehicles reliable, efficient and able to retain their value. All of which translate into a very good deal at the showroom.

In fact, there are three other Audis besides the diesel SUV that made the cut: The S5 and aforementioned Audi A5 coupes and the R8 sports car.

BMW brand worldwide sales climbed by 14.3% to 146,843 vehicles in the month under review (prev. yr. 128,450). Demand for the BMW 1 Series was strong with 23,583 vehicles sold last month, an increase of 51.1% on the previous year (15,606). Over 150.000 units of the second generation BMW 1 Series 5-Door Hatch have been delivered to customers since its launch in mid-September last year. The BMW 3 Series achieved sales of 39,302 vehicles last month (prev. yr. 35,842/ +9.7%). Sales for the BMW 5 Series climbed 7.9% to 29,996 vehicles (prev. yr. 27,804). The BMW 6 Series more than tripled its sales with 2,426 vehicles delivered last month (prev. yr. 752/ +222.6%). The BMW X1 performed strongly with 16,661 units sold in September, an increase of 32.9% (prev. yr. 12,536). Sales of the BMW X3 continued to be strong, climbing 20.0% to 13,616 vehicles (prev. yr. 11,346). Year-to-date, the brand BMW has delivered 1,109,962 vehicles, an increase of 8.6% over the previous year (1,021,955).

MINI posted its best ever September sales with 30,562 vehicles delivered (prev. yr. 30,392/ +0.6%). The brand has also had its most successful first nine months ever – in the period up to and including September, MINI sold 223,214 vehicles, an increase of 7.2% in worldwide sales compared to the same period last year (208,223). Last month at the Paris Auto Salon, the company unveiled the MINI Paceman. The MINI Paceman is the world’s first Sports Activity Coupe in the premium compact segment and it expands the brand’s portfolio to seven models. The MINI Paceman is expected to provide further momentum for MINI when it arrives in the first half of 2013.

Demand for Rolls-Royce motor cars remained steady with a small decrease of 4.7% year-to-date compared to 2011. The worldwide market introduction of Phantom Series II in September and the potential for seasonally strong fourth quarter sales causes Rolls-Royce to remain confident of another strong annual result.

BMW Motorrad achieved a new all-time retail high in September with 9,215 units (prev. yr.: 8,612 units/ +7.0%). Supplies of motorcycles and maxi scooters from January up to and including September totaled 85,944 units (prev. yr.: 86,892 units / -1.1%). Husqvarna Motorcycles supplied a total of 7,355 vehicles (prev. yr.: 6,079 units / +21.0%) to the Husqvarna dealer network from January up to and including September. Supplies in the month of September totaled 1,255 vehicles (prev. yr.: 1,351 units / -7.1%).

Markets:

The BMW Group reported solid gains in many markets last month and increased retail volumes in its three largest markets, China, the US and Germany.

In Europe, BMW Group sales grew last month by 4.8% to 92,442 vehicles (prev. yr. 88,243). In the first nine months, BMW Group sales were slightly above last year’s level, with a total of 639,798 vehicles delivered (prev. yr. 635,013/ +0.8%). In Germany, BMW and MINI were the only premium brands to make gains in September. A total of 26,021 new BMW and MINI vehicles were registered in September (prev. yr. 23,799/ +9.3%). The BMW brand accounted for 22,009 registrations (prev. yr. 20,042/ +9.8%) and MINI for 4,012 registrations (prev. yr. 3,757/ +6.8%). Year-to-date, 211,870 BMW and MINI vehicles have been registered in Germany (prev. yr. 220,054/ -3.7%). BMW Group sales in Russia climbed 48.5% in the month under review to 3,985 vehicles (prev. yr. 2,683). Year-to-date, 28,084 vehicles have been delivered in Russia, an increase of 32.9% over the previous year (21,133).

In Asia, sales surged by 40.0% in September to 45,781 vehicles (prev. yr. 32,708). The BMW Group made strong gains in Asia in the first nine months of the year, with sales climbing 27.2% to 357,841 vehicles (prev. yr. 281,223). The company achieved exceptionally high growth in Mainland China, which accounted for 29,631 deliveries in September, an increase of 59.4% over the same month in the previous year (18,588). Year-to-date, 237,056 BMW and MINI vehicles have been sold in Mainland China (prev. yr. 177,522) which reflects an increase of 33.5%. The BMW Group posted solid gains in other Asian markets in the first nine months of the year, including Japan (41,973/ +21.5%) and South Korea (24,541/ +18.5%)

In the Americas, the BMW Group delivered 34,050 vehicles in September (prev. yr. 32,772/ +3.9%). Since the beginning of the year, 290,888 vehicles were delivered to customers in the Americas, which reflected an increase of +6.3% on the previous year (273,564). The BMW Group in the U.S. reported September sales of 26,660 vehicles (prev. yr. 25,749/ +3.5%). Year-to-date, the BMW Group is up 7.1% on sales of 234,928 vehicles in the first nine months of 2012 compared to 219,314 in the same period in 2011.

The BMW Group

The BMW Group is one of the most successful manufacturers of automobiles and motorcycles in the world with its BMW, MINI, Husqvarna Motorcycles  and Rolls-Royce brands. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 29 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2011, the BMW Group sold about 1.67 million cars and more than 113,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2011 was euro 7.38 billion on revenues amounting to euro 68.82 billion. At 31 December 2011, the BMW Group had a workforce of approximately 100,000 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been built on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy. As a result of its efforts, the BMW Group has been ranked industry leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for the last eight years.

BMW SOUTH Africa is to export its new 3-Series model to China after receiving a clearance permit from the Chinese authorities.

The company claimed it was the first car manufacturer in South Africa to receive the permit, known as the China Quality Certification (CQC), since the implementation of the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP).

BMW SA managing director Bodo Donauer said yesterday that the China certification was a great vote of confidence in its plant in Rosslyn in Pretoria and it boded well not only for BMW SA’s sustainability as a company but also for the broader motoring industry in South Africa.

Donauer said the company’s exports to China would start at a small level later this year and the plan was for it to export about 3 900 units to China this year. He said the plan was for the Chinese market to ultimately make up about 10 percent of BMW SA’s total export volume.

BMW sales in China were growing at a rate of more than 40 percent a year and the South African-built vehicles would go a long way towards addressing the booming demand in this market due to slow production of Japanese cars after disaster.

Donauer added that production capacity at BMW SA’s Rosslyn plant would increase dramatically in the coming years and would ultimately exceed 90 000 units a year.

The plant exports about 50 percent of the vehicles it produces to the US, its biggest export market.

The remainder of the cars it produces will be shared among the local and African markets, Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia.

The clearance permit was issued to BMW SA’s plant after a comprehensive audit carried out by a team from the CQC Centre confirmed that its production and quality management systems were in line with world standards.

About R2.2 billion was invested in the Rosslyn plant between 2009 and this year by the BMW Group. The plant reopened in March this year with the launch of the new 3-Series.

The BMW Group has since 1994 made significant investments in the Rosslyn plant, which in 1973 was the first BMW plant established outside of Europe excluding that of Mercedes Benz Japan sales.

The company said it had invested more than R10bn in South Africa and had led the local motor industry in a number of respects in terms of production and export while the development of its production and export programme had been the catalyst for the company’s sustainable growth and contribution to the domestic economy.