BMW 2003 Annual Report Download - page 15

001 BMW Group in figures
004 Report of the Supervisory Board
008 Supervisory Board
011 Board of Management
012 Group Management Report
12 A Review of the Financial Year
29 Outlook
30 Financial Analysis
44 Risk Management
047 BMW Stock
050 Corporate Governance
054 Group Financial Statements
118 BMW AG Principal Subsidiaries
120 BMW Group10-year Comparison
122 BMW Group Locations
124 Glossary, Index
14
tions dropped by 1% compared to the previous year.
US car manufacturers in particular recorded a sharp
decrease in unit sales once again, whereas the num-
ber of imported vehicles rose sharply.
In Western Europe, the number of new car
registrations was approximately 1% lower than in the
previous year. Amongst the major European markets,
a sharp reduction in car registrations was observed
in France (– 6%), whereas the markets in Germany,
the United Kingdom and Italy were roughly in line
with the previous year. Eastern European markets,
by contrast, enjoyed dynamic growth.
Virtually all countries in Asia experienced strong
growth. In particular, the 74% increase in car regis-
trations in China was well above average. In Japan,
new registrations in 2003 were just above the pre-
vious year’s level.
The South American markets reflected a hetero-
geneous picture. Whereas car unit sales in Brazil
fell in 2003 as in the previous year, Argentina saw a
sharp recovery in car registrations in 2003, albeit
from a low level.
Premium segments again perform better than
the overall market
In 2003, the premium segments of the world’s
automobile markets once more recorded higher
growth rates than the market as a whole. The
BMW Group, whose brands are only represented in
premium segments, was again able to benefit from
this trend.
Car sales volume at record level
A total of 1,104,916 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce
brand cars was sold in 2003, surpassing the pre-
vious year’s level by 4.5%.
In 2003, for the first time ever, the USA became
the Group’s strongest market, with 277,037 units
sold, exceeding the previous year’s level by 8.0%.
This was followed by Germany, where 255,821
(– 0.9%) units were sold and the United Kingdom,
with134,502 units,11.3% ahead of the previous year.
Overall, the BMW Group sold 637,949 cars
in Western Europe, 1.9% more than in 2002. The
BMW Group achieved sales volume increases in
most of its other European markets. In addition to
the United Kingdom, particularly strong growth was
recorded in Finland (+15.9%), Spain (+ 6.5%) and
Italy (+ 6.4%). Despite the weak state of the market
in France, the BMW Group was able to hold its own
against the overall trend there and, with 42,753 units
sold, recorded a reduction of only 2.0% compared
to the previous year.
Asian and Pacific region markets continued to
grow dynamically in 2003, a trend from which the
BMW Group was also able to profit. In total, 93,030
BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand cars were sold in
Asia, an increase of 18.5%.
The BMW Group achieved particularly strong
volume growth on the Chinese markets (China,
Hong Kong and Taiwan). A total of 27,084 cars was
sold on these markets, 75.0% more than in the pre-
vious year.
In Japan, the BMW Group performed better
than the market as a whole. 48,683 cars were sold in
2003, 7.5% more than in 2002.
BMW brand sales volume higher than in the
previous year despite model change
The pattern of unit sales of BMW brand cars in 2003
did not reflect a typical year. As a result of product
BMW Group – key automobile markets 2003
as a percentage of sales volume
Germany
USA
United Kingdom
Italy
Japan
France
Other
12.2
6.1
4.4
3.9
23.2 25.1
25.1