BMW 2007 Annual Report Download - page 21

19
Auto Show in Detroit in January 2008. From autumn
2008 onwards, the BMW X5 and the BMW 335d,
both powered by 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder diesel
engines will be available on the American market.
MINI models performing successfully
The new MINI has been available to customers since
November 2006 and created significant momentum
in 2007. Sales of MINI brand cars were up by 18.5 %
compared to the previous year, reaching a new retail
sales volume record figure of 222,875 units. The
new MINI Clubman was launched in November in
the Cooper and Cooper S variants and has already
achieved a sales volume of almost 5,000 units.
The high-value model mix of the MINI brand
was raised even further in 2007. More than one half
of customers (55.9 %) opted for the MINI Cooper.
The MINI Cooper S and the MINI One accounted for
29.9 % and 14.2 % respectively of the sales volume.
Rolls-Royce registers growth for the fourth
time in succession
The Rolls-Royce brand was again market leader in
its segment during the past year. With 1,010 vehi-
cles handed over to customers, it posted a new sales
volume record (+ 25.5 %). The new Rolls-Royce
Phantom Drophead Coupé also made a good con-
tribution towards this performance. Since its sales
launch in summer 2007 it has been purchased by
253 customers.
Preparations for the Coupé version announced
in September 2007 are running according to plan.
The first Phantom Coupés will be handed over to
customers in the second half of 2008.
Car production volume at all-time high level
The BMW Group also increased its production
volume figure, recording new high levels for all
three brands. In total, 1,541,503 BMW, MINI and
Rolls-Royce brand cars left the BMW Group plants in
2007 (+ 12.8 %).
1,302,774 BMW brand cars were manufactured,
10.5 % more than in the previous year. In addition,
237,700 MINI brand cars were manufactured in the
MINI Production Triangle in the United Kingdom in
2007, representing a 27.3 % production volume
increase. 1,029 Rolls-Royce Phantoms were manu-
factured at Goodwood, England, during the year
(+ 21.5 %), including 300 Drophead Coupés.
Production network demonstrates high level
of efficiency
The BMW Group’s production network again dem-
onstrated its capabilities in 2007 by handling a total
of 16 model start-ups (eight new and eight model
revisions) and 13 start-ups for engines.
Productivity of the BMW Group’s production
network improved by well over 10 % in 2007. One
major contributing factor to this was the consistent
ability to focus efforts on generating added value
throughout the whole of the production process.
The BMW Group continued to expand its pro-
duction network in 2007. A new assembly plant for
BMW 3 Series and 5 Series production was officially
opened in March 2007 in Chennai, India. This is
part of the production follows the market strategy,
creating opportunities to engage in markets with
long-term growth potential. The first BMW 3 Series
vehicle rolled off the assembly line in Chennai in
February 2007 and production of BMW 5 Series
vehicles commenced in May.
205,044 units of the BMW 3 Series Sedan and
the BMW 3 Series Touring were produced at the
BMW plant Munich in 2007. In October, the new
visitors’ walkway through the Munich plant – the so-
called production mile – was commissioned to
coincide with the opening of the BMW Welt. Visitors
are able to obtain an insight into the production of
MINI brand cars in 2007 – analysis by model variant
as a percentage of total MINI brand sales volume
MINI
MINI Convertible
MINI Clubman
15.8
82.0
2.2
MINI brand cars in 2007 – analysis by engine variant
as a percentage of total MINI brand sales volume
MINI
Cooper (including Cooper D )
MINI Cooper S
MINI One
29.9 55.9
14.2