The X5 and the new X6, as well as the Z4 models, are manufactured exclusively at the Spartanburg County BMW plant for worldwide distribution.

BMW Sports Activity Vehicles Sales:
Results were driven by the excellent performance of the BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle, up 75.5 percent, and the X6 increasing 97.6 percent. In the large premium sedan segment, the BMW 7 Series has led the category for the last two months.

MINI Brand, MINI Automobiles Sales:
“It’s a positive market sign that sales for both BMW and MINI, as well as some other premium brands, continued to improve in February,” said Jim O’Donnell, President of BMW of North America, LLC. “Led by the 7 Series just one year ago, we are now beginning to renew the heart of our model line-up, and believe as we do so over the next couple of years, our market strength will continue. For example, just today we unveiled the all new BMW 5 series at the Geneva motor show and it arrives in the US in June.”

“In a 2009, where our segment was down over 40 percent, we’re quite happy with MINI’s performance as it was the second best year since the launch of the brand in 2002, and market share increased significantly,” said Jim McDowell, Vice President MINI USA. “For 2010, our growth story should continue driven by three factors: an improving economy, adding dealerships in key markets of opportunity across the US, and building momentum for doubling the number of vehicles in the MINI range.”

BMW Brand Sales:
Sales of BMW brand vehicles increased 11.5 percent in December for a total of 20,128 vehicles compared to 18,060 vehicles reported in the same month a year ago. For the year, BMW brand sales were down 21.1 percent to 196,502 vehicles compared to 249,113 vehicles sold in 2008.

Sales showed a good performance throughout the model line-up. Supported by strong X5 AdvancedDiesel sales – one out of three customers opted for a Diesel model – the X5 sold 3,513 vehicles, up 22.3 percent compared to December 2008. The BMW X6 was up 30.1 percent to 562 units. The 5 Series gained 5.8 percent vs. December 2008 just prior to the introduction of an all-new 5 Series in the second quarter of 2010. The all-new BMW 7 Series and Z4 Roadster also had significant increases compared to last December, partially due to model cycle updates and limited inventory a year ago.

“The numbers show a good month for us, but more importantly is the fact we saw traffic, shopping and sales evenly distributed throughout December,” said Jim O’Donnell, President of BMW of North America, LLC. “We take this as a hopeful sign that there’s a bit more rational demand building up in the premium market rather than just shopping for month-end deals.”

BMW Certified Pre-Owned (CPO):
On the used car side, sales of BMW’s Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) vehicles were down 9.4 percent to 8,469 vehicles versus 9,350 vehicles reported in a very strong February 2009. Year-to-date, CPO sales were down 17.8 percent to 15,912 in the same period of 2009.

The Spartanburg County BMW plant, where the X5 and X6 SUVs and Z4 roadster are manufactured exclusively for worldwide distribution, began recycling methane gas as an energy source at the Upstate BMW plant. The recycled methane gas, drawn from the Palmetto Landfill near greenville, supplies BMW with 25 percent of its energy needs. " Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christine Todd Whitman said, "This is a win-win for everyone. It avoids the need to burn methane. It yields significant amounts of clean energy. And, by avoiding 55,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, it results in cleaner, healthier air for everyone to breathe." Currently, employment at the greenville County plant totals approximately 4,600.

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand, the MINI brand, and the ROLLS-ROYCE brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, an industrial design firm in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all Z4 Roadster and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 340 BMW passenger car centers, 327 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 148 BMW motorcycle retailers, 80 MINI passenger car dealers, and 25 ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

(Images provided by BMW USA.)

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