BMW and Mini sales jump 43%

Abu Dhabi Motors retained its leading position as the best performing BMW Group importer in the Middle East during the first three months of 2012 with a 43 per cent sales growth over 2011 - the most successful first quarter in the distributor’s history, and a major contributor to BMW Group's 6 per cent  sales increase in the Middle East. The exclusive BMW Group importer in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain delivered 1,563 BMW and MINI cars to customers in the capital. Arno Husselmann, General Manager of Abu Dhabi Motors, said: "We started the year well with the opening of the world's biggest BMW Group showroom facility to cater for the ongoing growth. Abu Dhabi customers are among the highest net worth households in the world, and they have a strong desire to own luxury products from premium brands that also offer the best service standards. The premium BMW Group products, professional staff and exceptional service standards are key to our winning formula. In fact, our customer satisfaction results have already increased by more than 2 per cent over the best results achieved in 2011.” Sales for BMW increased 43 per cent with a total of 1,502 cars sold. The top-of-the-range models remained the best-selling, with the BMW X5 leading with a 296 per cent  increase (790 cars), followed by the X6 Sports Activity Coupé with 11 per cent  growth (342 cars). The BMW 5 Series and flagship BMW 7 Series also continued their success stories with sales of 142 and 94 cars sold respectively. Another area of the BMW brand that saw substantial growth was BMW Premium Selection, the BMW approved used-car programme which enjoyed a 23 per cent  increase in sales. "The strong residual values of BMW cars as well as the unmatched service package, BSI Ultimate ensures high demand for pre-owned cars. Our toughest challenge is to try secure trade-in cars to sell in BMW Premium Selection," added Husselmann. The MINI brand also continues to grow vigorously with 61 cars sold during the first three months of the year, an increase of 39 per cent  and an impressive achievement when operating in a market that predominantly favours large, luxury vehicles.