BMW 2008 Annual Report Download - page 19

20
14 Group Management Report
14 A Review of the Financial Year
16 General Economic Environment
20 Review of Operations
42 BMW Stock and Bonds
45 Disclosures pursuant to § 289 (4)
and § 315 (4) HGB
47 Financial Analysis
47 Internal Management System
49 Earnings Performance
51 Financial Position
52 Net Assets Position
55 Subsequent Events Report
55 Value Added Statement
57 Key Performance Figures
58 Comments on BMW AG
62 Risk Management
68 Outlook
Review of Operations
Sales volume down on previous year’s high level
The car sales volume recorded by the BMW Group in 
was influenced – particularly during the second half of the
year – by the ongoing financial crisis and the resulting re-
luctance of consumers to spend. In total, the BMW Group
sold ,, BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce cars during the
year under report, .  fewer than in the previous year.
Sales of BMW brand cars in  were also adversely af-
fected by model life cycle factors relating to the BMW
7 Series and the Z4. The number of BMW brand cars sold
in  fell by .  to ,, units. The MINI brand
recorded a sales volume of , units, up .  on the
previous year, benefiting amongst other things from the
success of the MINI Clubman. The BMW Group sold ,
Rolls-Royce cars + . , enjoying an additional boost
when the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé became available
from autumn  onwards.
Lower sales volumes recorded on many markets
The downturn in the global economy resulted in a signifi-
cant reduction in sales volumes in many countries, partic-
ularly in the second half of . In North America, the BMW
Group recorded an .  drop in retail sales for  with
, units sold. This includes , units sold in the
USA, lagging .  behind the previous year’s performance.
In Europe, the impact of the financial crisis was mostly
felt from mid-year onwards. Negative trends in Western
Europe could not be fully offset by positive growth rates
in Eastern Europe, which in some cases, were still quite
strong. In total, the BMW Group sold , BMW, MINI
and Rolls-Royce brand cars in , .  fewer than one
year earlier. In Germany, the sales volume of , units
meant that the previous year’s level was matched despite
the exceptionally difficult business climate in  (:
, units). By contrast, the number of cars sold in the
United Kingdom dropped sharply to , units – . .
Sales were also down in Italy and Spain. With , units
sold in Italy, the sales volume was .  down on the pre-
vious year. In Spain, the number of cars sold fell by . 
to , units. In France, however, the BMW Group regis-
tered strong growth in , with the sales volume up by
.  to , units. This was also due to the fact that the
BMW Group Deliveries of automobiles by region and market
in , units
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
04 05 06 07 08
Rest of Europe 299.7 350.8 375.0 443.6 432.2
North America 315.9 329.0 337.4 364.0 331.8
Germany 283.6 295.9 285.3 280.9 280.9
Asia 106.4 125.7 142.2 159.5 1 6 5.7
United Kingdom 145.3 156.2 154.1 173.8 1 5 1.5
Other markets 57.8 70.4 80.0 78.9 73.8
Total 1,208.7 1,328.0 1,374.0 1,500.7 1,435.9
Rest of Europe
North America
Germany
Asia
United Kingdom
Other markets
BMW Group – key automobile markets 
as a percentage of sales volume
USA 21.1 China 5.3
Germany 19.6 France 4.9
United Kingdom 10.6 Spain 4.2
Italy 6.3 Other 28.0
USA
Germany
United KingdomItaly
Spain
France
China
Other