BMW Group continue to increase sales despite a decline in the global economy and the vehicle market slowing.

In the first half of the year from January to June 2008 the BMW Group have increased sales across the board. Sales increased in BMW’s, Mini and Rolls Royce brands with sales figures of nearly 750,000 vehicles in the first six months. The global downturn seems not to have effected their trading however there was a 2.8% drop between June 2008 and 2007.

The main increases were a 66.4% increase in the 1 Series and good results with the X5 despite concerns over oil prices. Mini remained successful but improved sales figures by 17.9% up to 128,816 cars this year. Rolls Royce sold only 495 vehicles this year however the effect BMW is having on Rolls Royce is apparent as that is a phenomenal increase of 68.4% from last year.

Sales were strong in Western Europe, Asia and South America with an emergence in Eastern Europe however decreases were seen in North America and Africa. The USA is experiencing the hard downturn of the sub-prime market this year which may explain their decrease in sales. This news comes just after BMW announced they were investing millions into the American market, probably in an attempt to improve these figures.

This increase in sales could be down to a number of reasons. Firstly, in these times people are more inclined to buy quality goods that they can trust which is a feature synonymous with BMW. Another possible reason is the innovative development BMW are making toward tackling climate change. Their EfficientDynamics technology is groundbreaking in the industry and points towards a successful future in these unstable times.