BMW 2004 Annual Report Download - page 14

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Coupé in 2004 totalled 57,968 units (–13.0%). In
the same
period, the number of BMW 3 Series
Convertible and BMW 3 Series Compact vehicles
sold totalled 40,341 units (–14.9%) and 39,108
units (–34.2%) respectively.
More BMW 5 Series were delivered to cus-
tomers in 2004 than ever before: 229,598 units of
the BMW 5 Series models were sold, 23.8% more
than in the previous year. In the first full year of sale
since its launch in July 2003, 191,361 units of the
BMW 5 Series Sedan were sold, an increase of
22.6% over the previous year. In May 2004, the new
BMW 5 Series Touring was introduced, initially in
Europe, and by the end of the year, 31,342 units had
been delivered to customers. Including 6,895 units
of the predecessor model sold before the year-end,
the total sales volume for the BMW 5 Series Touring
in 2004 reached 38,237 units (+30.3%).
Demand for the new BMW 6 Series Coupé and
Convertible models, launched in January and March
respectively, remains strong.12,332 of the 6 Series
Coupé and 8,708 of the 6 Series Convertible had
been sold by the end of the year. In 2005, the M6
model will round off BMW’s range of Coupés with a
particularly powerful model.
The worldwide sales volume of the 7 Series was
47,689 units (–17.6%) in 2004, the fourth year of
production. In Germany, the BMW 7 Series has now
moved into first place in the luxury class and, with
7,671 new vehicle registrations, is the market leader
in the segment for large sedans.
Demand for the BMW X5, now in its fifth full
year of production is also gratifyingly strong; with
104,988 units (–0.5%) sold in 2004, the sales
volume remained stable at a high level. More than
433,000 units of this Sports Activity Vehicle have
been sold since its market launch in 1999.
The BMW X3 was introduced onto the market
in January 2004 and by the end of the year, 92,248
units had been delivered to customers.
38,483 BMW Z4 Roadster were sold in 2004,
18.2% less than in the previous year.
The proportion of diesel-powered BMW brand
cars continues to grow steadily. One in three new
BMW brand cars worldwide is now equipped with
a diesel engine. In some markets, in particular in
Europe, the proportion of diesels is significantly
higher; in Italy, France and Spain, for example, the
proportion is 86%, 85% and 71% respectively. In
Germany, almost one half of all new BMW brand cars
were powered by a diesel engine.
The combination provided by a continual re-
duction in the level of emissions and significantly
enhanced performance is one of the main factors
behind the success of BMW diesel vehicles. It is
envisaged that the use of particle filters will become
a standard feature of all BMW diesel vehicles; at
present, however, the availability of particle filters is
still limited. They have been incorporated into all
BMW 5 Series diesels since March 2004. Since
then, they are being successively incorporated as a
standard feature into all BMW diesel vehicles which
require them to comply with EU4 emission rules.
In BMW vehicles which already comply with EU4
standards, the particle filter is an optional extra.
Deliveries of BMW diesel automobiles
in 1,000 units
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
00 01
188.5 216.8
02
245.9
03
273.7
04
352.5