BMW 2006 Annual Report Download - page 145

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05
Preface
At this juncture, I would also like
in particular
to thank my
colleagues
Dr.Helmut Panke and ProfessorBurkhard Göschel,
both of whom retired from the Board of Management in 2006
upon reaching the statutory age limit
. The BMW Group has
gained a position of strength as a result of their successful
work in recent years.
Today, many of our models hold leading positions in the
premium segments of the international automobile markets.
Indeed, the BMW 3 and 5 Series are the market leaders
worldwide in their respective segments.We aim to strengthen
this position in the coming years and, to this end, we will
extend our product range with a variety of new models. Here
are a few examples: in March, we will be launching attractive
new products such as the new BMW 3 Series Convertible,
the revised BMW 1 and 5 Series, and the M5 Touring.The
new BMW X5, which has already been introduced success-
fully in the United States, will also be launched in Europe
and Asia during the first months of 2007.Other new products
will follow in the course of the year. In 2007, we will continue
the model change in the MINI, for example, with the new
MINI One and the MINI Cooper D,thus stabilising the brand’s
extraordinary success. For Rolls-Royce, the year 2007 will
be dominated by the market launch of the convertible,
the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé, which has
already aroused great interest and expectations. As already
announced, a new model positioned below the Phantom
will also be added to the product range in the coming years.
The new and existing models will enable us to develop
new
markets and segments in 2007 and the following years.
To do this, we will again step up our international presence
in 2007. The latest example is our commitment in India
where we opened a new sales subsidiary near Delhi at the
beginning of the year. A few days ago our new BMW plant
in Chennai began production of BMW 3 Series automobiles
for the Indian market.
The plant will also produce BMW 5
Series models for
India from May onwards. Our activities in
China continue to develop in a very promising way. In 2006,