The BMW Group registers higher sales volume, revenues, and profit in Q1

The EBIT margin in the Automotive segment was unchanged at 9.5 per cent and is therefore in the upper half of the targeted range of between 8 and 10 per cent. Profit before tax amounting to € 1,634 million (2014: € 1,643 million; -0.5 per cent) was at a similar level to the previous year. Earnings were held down by a number of factors, such as fair value losses recognized on commodity derivatives.

The BMW brand also recorded a new sales volume high, with 451,576 units (2014: 428,259 units; +5.4 per cent) sold during the first quarter. Tailwind came from numerous models, including the BMW X5 and the 4, 5 and 6 Series, each of which achieved the pole position in their relevant segments.

The BMW 2 Series recorded a total sales volume of 27,930 units (2014: 2,608 units) in the period from January to March. Sales of the BMW 3 Series remained at a high level, with 107,283 units (2014: 116,671 units; -8.0 per cent) sold during the period. As the Convertible and Coupé models are now part of the BMW 4 Series, the previous year's high level was not quite achieved. Sales of the BMW 4 Series more than doubled in the same period to 36,545 units (2014: 17,709 units).

The various models of the BMW X family also remain very popular. First-quarter sales of the BMW X4 totalled 13,925 units. The BMW X5 recorded a 29.7 per cent jump in sales volume to 40,242 units (2014: 31,025 units), while the BMW X6 increased sales by 4.7 per cent to 9,588 units (2014: 9,160 units). BMW i remains on the road to success, with a total of 6,636 units (2014: 2,022 units; +228.2 per cent) sold in the first quarter.

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