BMW 2011 Annual Report Download - page 27

27 COMBINED GROUP AND COMPANY MANAGEMENT REPORT
Sales volume of Rolls-Royce vehicles by model variant
in units
2011 2010 Change
in %
Rolls-Royce
Phantom (including Phantom Extended Wheelbase) 537 351 53.0
Coupé (including Drophead Coupé) 281 186 51.1
Ghost 2,720 2,174 25.1
Rolls-Royce total 3,538 2,711 30.5
Sales volume record for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars also registered the best sales
volume figure in the 107 years of the marque’s history.
A
total of 3,538 units was sold in 2011 (+ 30.5 %) and
all of the Rolls-Royce models contributed to the brand’s
success. Luxury cars of the Phantom model series,
including the Coupé and the Drophead Coupé, were
handed over to 818 customers (+ 52.3 %). Sales of the
Ghost also rose sharply (+ 25.1 %) to 2,720 units. As a
result of this fine sales performance, Rolls-Royce leads
the segment for ultra-luxury vehicles.
Car production increased
The strong demand for our vehicles worldwide led to
production volumes being raised for all three brands
in 2011. In total, 1,738,160* BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce
Motor Cars brand vehicles were manufactured during
the year under report (+ 17.3 %). The production of
BMW cars was increased by 16.4 % to 1,440,315* units,
while MINI production volume grew at an even faster
rate (294,120 units; + 22.0 %). A total of 3,725 vehicles
left the Rolls-Royce plant in Goodwood, England, in 2011
(+ 15.6 %).
* Including automobiles from the joint venture BMW Brilliance
Production capacities fully utilised
The production network again operated at full capacity
in 2011. Thanks to a high degree of flexibility, it was
able to react promptly to the economic upswing. Apart
from achieving record production volumes, a total of
ten new series production start-ups were implemented,
including the new BMW 3 Series and 1 Series. Global
growth is being met by increasing capacities in various
regions, including the USA, China and India, thus
enabling the BMW Group to strengthen its international
presence. At the same time, we are also investing
some
€ 2 billion in our German production sites in 2011
and 2012.
At the BMW plant in Munich, the ramp-up of
produc-
tion for the new BMW 3 Series was at the forefront of
activities in 2011, culminating in its world debut in
Munich on 14 October. Apart from the great number
of invited guests, the event was attended by some
5,000 BMW Group employees. The official production
start-up of the new BMW 3 Series, now in its sixth
generation, took place on 28 October. In the field of
engine production, the major emphasis was placed on
the production start of the new BMW 4-cylinder
petrol
engine in 2011; some € 205 million was invested in
these start-ups at the BMW plant in Munich in 2011.
Production of the BMW 5 Series, 6 Series and 7 Series
at the BMW plant in Dingolfing proceeded at record
levels in 2011 in order to meet the strong demand for
our vehicles worldwide. In April 2011 the eight-
mil-
lionth BMW left the plant’s production lines since 1973.
Well over 340,000 vehicles were produced at the site in
the year under report, more than in any other single
year. Production of the new BMW 6 Series Coupé began
in July and was followed in autumn by the BMW M5,
now in its fifth generation. January 2012 marked the
production launch of the BMW ActiveHybrid 5, the first
fully hybrid BMW Sedan. Over the course of 2011 we in-
vested some €270 million to rejuvenate the site’s manu-
facturing technologies and prepare for the production
of new models and components. As a result of these
various developments, which will also include the making
of engine and drive com ponents for electric models
under the BMW i sub-brand, the Dingolfing site is set
to be one of the main pillars of the BMW Group’s future
Electromobility Production Network.
The BMW plant in Regensburg saw the production launch
of the new BMW 1 Series on 1 July 2011, the culmination
of some € 300 million of investment during the period
since 2009. One of the measures taken has been to
inte-
grate the world’s first dry separation method in the
painting process. Now, instead of being filtered out in
water, excess
paint particles are collected in the form of
recyclable stone powder. This new process helps to
reduce both water and energy consumption. The process