MIDDLE East sales for the BMW Group continue to go from strength-to-strength, with the company posting a 6% increase across the region for the first half of this year, a growth which has been achieved in spite of the increasingly volatile market environment in several countries over the past months. Having delivered a total of 16,706 BMW and MINI vehicles to customers in 12 markets, BMW Group Middle East has its sights set on yet another successful year. The UAE remained the largest market, accounting for 59% of BMW Group Middle East's total sales. Abu Dhabi was once again the biggest seller with 6,962 cars sold, followed by Dubai, Sharjah & the Northern Emirates with 2,934, and Saudi Arabia with 2,243. Markets that maintained strong sales growth included Lebanon, increasing by 57%, Oman by 29% and Jordan by 18%. The strong half-year performance was a result of the company's top-of-the-range models that continue to be best-sellers across the region. The X model family, for example, performed well thanks to a young model portfolio following the arrival of a number of latest generation models. As a result, the X model range accounted for 55% of the overall Middle East sales, with the BMW X5 alone selling 5,288 cars, an impressive 109% increase, and the BMW X6 selling 2,321. Meanwhile, the BMW 5 Series was also a strong contributor to BMW Group Middle East's half year results, with 2,111 cars sold, cementing its position as the leader in the executive car segment. Additionally, the MINI brand has also seen a substantial growth with a 13% increase on last year's figures, selling a total of 839 cars across all regional markets. The MINI 3-Door Hatch, which arrived last year, was the most popular model, leading the sales across eight markets. Dubai reported a 35% increase in MINI volume sales while Lebanon experienced a staggering 51% increase in year on year sales of the MINI range. The recent announcement of MINI's new and diversified brand positioning, along with the upcoming launch of the new MINI Clubman, which is scheduled to arrive in the Middle East in 2016, promises to uphold the brand's increasing popularity, and in turn its growth throughout the remainder of the year. Ahead of the launch of the all-new BMW 7 Series, the company also revealed that the 7 Series remains amongst its best-sellers with 1,384 cars sold, accounting for 8% of total sales – retaining the Middle East's position as the third largest market for the BMW 7 Series worldwide. Commenting on the company's first-half sales performance, Johannes Seibert, Managing Director for BMW Group Middle East, said: “These results represent a healthy start to the year, and are testament not only to the strength of our brands and the innovative technology that comes with them, but also to our commitment to ensuring that we offer the right products for each market. Our customers appreciate the very best a brand has to offer, which is why our top-end models are so successful and have been the main drivers behind our growth. Our increasing sales are also down to our partners‘ excellent retail services and customer relationships. They know the automotive premium business as well as the expectations of our customers very well, and so are another important factor to our success.” The pioneering BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car, the second model to be unveiled by BMW i, the company's sub-brand focusing solely on developing sustainable products and mobility services, also continued to drive interest from regional customers and reaffirm the BMW Group's reputation as the world's most sustainable premium car company. The BMW i8 combines the performance and appeal of a sports car with the fuel consumption and emissions of a small vehicle. Seibert added: “2015 so far has been very successful for us, also due to the positive results of the ongoing investment and commitment of our importers in the region. Towards the end of this year, we will launch the new BMW X1 that will further strengthen our X model range, as well as the highly anticipated BMW 7 Series. With our strong brands, attractive and innovative products, and excellent retail services provided by our importers, we expect our success to continue in the second half of the year, and that we'll further strengthen our leading position amongst our European competitors.” — SG
