For the 2015 Detroit Auto Show Press Conference, BMW gave an overview of their record sales for 2014 and an historic look back at their start in the United States. In 2014, BMW Group had their highest sales volume in their history. BMW Group sold over 2,000,000 vehicles world wide. 2014 marks the fourth consecutive year for record sales. BMW continues to lead the global premium market in terms of overall sales figures.
For 2015, BMW aims for continued growth in Europe, Asia and the Americas. This will come with an expansion of their product portfolio. Also this year, BMW will bring to market 15 new models and model revisions. These include a BMW X5 40eDrive. This X5 plug-in hybrid will add new chapter to the X5 family. The X series family represents 30% of BMW global sales.
Furthermore, in 2015 BMW celebrates their 40th anniversary in the U.S. Market. When BMW was founded in the U.S., they offered just four models and sold about 90,000 cars. BMW wanted to establish themselves as the Ultimate Driving Machine, so to demonstrate this, they decided to go into racing.
In 1975, they entered the IMSA GT Series – 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. BMW brought out the 3.0 CSL, and secured BMW’s first racing victory in the US. This car helped establish BMW as the Ultimate Driving Machine and remains a cornerstone of BMW’s presence in the US.
Last year, BMW manufactured 350,000 vehicles at the Spartanburg Plant. By 2016, BMW plans to expand the Spartanburg Plant to 450,000 vehicles manufactured per year. This will make the Spartanburg, SC plant the largest single plant of BMW’s manufacturing facilities.
The U.S. is the largest market for BMW i vehicles, which include the BMW i3 and the i8. Worldwide, BMW sold 18,000 i cars with three quarters of the sales coming in the second half of the year.
To BMW, the 6 Series represent epitome of sports performance and luxury. Now in the third generation, the 6 Series is offered in three body styles, a coupe, a convertible and a 6 Series Gran Coupe. For model year 2016, BMW updated the 6 Series with new features in its LCI (Life Cycle Impulse) updates. There are newly designed front and rear aprons, new LED headlamps which are standard across the line and new kidney grills. On the performance side, the suspension and steering settings have been re-calibrated. The engines and transmissions remain unchanged.
The 6 Series offer new option packages. For the first time ever, BMW offers a BMW Individual program where the customer can work with a BMW Individual Designer so that the customer can design their own unique custom vehicle. In the last three years, approximately 80,000 6 Series have been delivered. The 6 Series Gran Coupe is responsible for half of these sales.
The U.S. Market is responsible for one-third of all 6 Series sales.
