The BMW Group in Spartanburg - the 10th Anniversary
'Production Follows the Market' concept successfully implemented in the US.
Increased internationalization in the coming year.
Munich, Germany. November 14, 2002. The BMW Group is stepping on the gas on
its way to a new order of magnitude. On the product side the BMW Group is about
to launch into the greatest model offensive in the history of the company. In
the coming year alone, two new model series, the BMW X3 and the BMW 6 Series,
will be launched as well the third new premium brand, Rolls-Royce. Overall the
number of model series will increase significantly in the next five years. Dr.
Helmut Panke, Chairman of the Board of Management of the BMW AG: "This
represents an expansion like never before in our company's past. We are raising
the BMW Group to a completely new level with regard to sales, turnover and
returns".
The company has set its sights on annual sales of 1.4 million light vehicles
worldwide by the year 2008, which represents an increase of 40 percent in the
coming six years. This course of growth is born by the biggest model offensive
in company history as well as heightened sales activities on the markets -
above all in Asia.
Panke said on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the first cut of the
spade for the BMW plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, that the "Production
Follows the Market" concept has proved that it works in the US. In 1991, the
last year before deciding to build the new plant, BMW sold 53,000 vehicles. In
2002 the company is expecting a ten percent growth for the BMW brand alone. In
addition there is the successful launch of the MINI brand with expected sales
of 24,000 units in the US. Overall the company expects sales of over 250,000
units in 2002 meaning that sales have almost increased fivefold in the past
eleven years.
"Without our commitment in South Carolina we would not have achieved these
figures", says Panke. In the coming years the goal is to expand the market
share in the world's largest automobile market even further. "The positive
experiences gained in Spartanburg confirm us in our endeavours to continue
expanding in other important regions too, and to intensify our product range
expansion efforts."
In the coming years the Asian markets will be one focal point of the
internationalization strategy. The BMW Group already is the market leader in
the premium segment in most of the countries in the Asia - Pacific region today
and can boast mainly two-digit growth rates. Panke: "We want to reinforce this
position. In the mid-term, meaning the coming five years, we are planning to
more than double sales in this region from 60,000 vehicles today to
approximately 150,000 units."
For questions please contact:
Corporate Communications
Heike Müller, Business and Finance
Telephone: (+49 89) 382-20775, Fax: (+49 89) 382-24418
Marc Hassinger, Coporate Communications, Business and Finance
Telephone: (+49 89) 382-23362, Fax: (+49 89) 382-24418
Media Website: https://newsroom.bmwgroup.com/global/en
e-mail: presse@bmw.de