BMW 2006 Annual Report Download - page 22

21
New record sales of motorcycles
For the first time in its corporate history, the BMW
Group sold more than 100,000 BMW motorcycles
in a single financial year. With a sales volume of
100,064 motorcycles in 2006, the previous year’s
figure was topped by 2.7%.The R1200 GS Adven-
ture and the new two-cylinder models of the F-Se-
ries, which have been available since March 2006,
contributed particularly to this positive development.
Markets still performing inconsistently
As in previous years, the BMW Group’s motorcycle
business reflects diverging market developments.
In Europe, sales of BMW motorcycles totalled
73,850 units, a 2.7% increase over the previous
year. Within this total, increased sales volumes were
registered in particular for the markets of Southern
Europe. A sharp increase was registered in Spain,
where, with 10,002 motorcycles sold in 2006, the
BMW Group achieved a new sales volume record,
surpassing the previous year’s figure by 25.0 %.
13,651 motorcycles were sold in Italy, 7.5% more
than one year earlier. Sales volumes in Greece (1,338
units, +10.2%) and Portugal (535 units, +32.1%)
developed positively, even though each of these mar-
kets contracted as a whole.
By and large, the sales volume recorded for the
remaining European countries failed to reach the
previous year’s level. With a sales volume of 23,617
units, the BMW Group sold 1.9% fewer motorcycles
in Germany than in the previous year, even though
some products were purchased during the final
months of 2006 to avoid the forthcoming increase
in value added tax. With a market share of 18.5 %,
the BMW Group was nevertheless able to defend
its position as market leader in Germany, where the
market has now been in decline for seven consecu-
tive years. In France, the sales volume of 7,701 units
meant that 2.5% fewer customers took delivery of
motorcycles than in the previous year. In the United
Kingdom, where the number of motorcycles sold
decreased by 3.9%*to 5,213 units, the performance
should be seen against the background of an overall
contracting market.
In the USA, the Motorcycles segment was
able to repeat its previous year’s performance.With
12,825 units sold, the sales volume here was mar-
ginally higher than in the previous year (+0.2 %).
Overall, the American motorcycles market de-
veloped positively in 2006.However, the Cruiser and
Supersport segments, in which the BMW Group
is not currently represented, showed the best per-
formance. The increase in the number of BMW
motorcycles sold in Central and South America
was very encouraging; the sales volume for these
markets was 2,740 units, up by 24.7% on the pre-
vious year.
In Japan, the BMW Group recorded sales volume
growth in 2006 following three years of declining
figures. 2,644 BMW motorcycles were sold there,
10.1% more than in the previous year.
The sale of BMW motorcycles also developed
positively in South Africa, with 21.4% more units
sold than one year earlier (2,682 units).
*Previous year’s figure adjusted: 5,425 units (excluding Ireland)
R1200 GS continues to be the BMW Group’s
best-selling motorcycle
In 2006, the BMW R1200 GS again headed the
list of top-selling BMW motorcycles. Including
the Adventure version, 31,138 units of this large,
long- distance enduro were delivered to customers.
The Motorcycles segment has never before sold
as many units of one model in a single year.
Second on the sales volume list for 2006, with
13,384 units, came the R1200 RT, alarge long-dis-
BMW Group – key motorcycle markets 2006
as a percentage of sales volume
Deutschland
Italy
USA
Spain
France
United Kingdom
Other
13.623.6
5.2 7.7
10.0
12.8
27.1
BMW motorcycles delivered
in1,000 units
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
02
92.6
03
93.0
04
92.3
05
97.5
06
100.1