BMW and MINI sold a combined 12,954 vehicles in Thailand during 2019, a slight drop of 1 per cent compared to the previous year while the luxury car market experienced steeper decline, company executives stated at a Bangkok press conference today.
The first batch of new models from the German brand this year were also launched at the Group’s press conference held in a movie theater, including the 218i Gran Coupe M Sport (Bt2.399 million), BMW’s new take on the subcompact four-door coupe concept, along with the locally-assembled BMW 330e M Sport (Bt2.799 million) and BMW 320d M Sport (Bt2.549 million) with upgraded features. MINI launched the Cooper S Countryman High Trim (Bt2.499 million) that comes with a new gearbox and BMW Motorrad also introduced the S 1000 RR superbike (Bt1.02 million).
BMW finished the year with 11,750 deliveries, achieving significant growth in the high end luxury segment with sales volume of the 7 Series, 8 Series, X7, and i8 rising by 39 per cent year-on-year. BMW Premium Selection certified used car program, on the other hand, also grew by 16 per cent year-on-year.
MINI enjoyed another historic year with 1,204 deliveries, up 15 per cent – the highest growth rate of any MINI market worldwide.
BMW Group Thailand president Alexander Baraka says the company is hoping for further success in 2020 thanks to a forward-looking strategy that achieved remarkable results.
“The arrival of the X7, for example, opened up unprecedented growth opportunities in the luxury SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle) segment, while the new 7 Series January debut signifies continued momentum in its segment as well. MINI had a thoroughly excellent 60th anniversary last year, and the launch of the MINI Cooper SE electric car represents our intention to drive MINI ever forward into the future of mobility without leaving behind the iconic character of the brand,” Baraka said.
Globally, the BMW Group reported its ninth consecutive record year in 2019 with a total of 2,520,307 BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce vehicles delivered to customers around the world – up 1.2 per cent from the previous year. Apart from BMW and BMW Motorrad sales worldwide reaching new all-time highs, growth across electrified offerings from BMW and MINI saw the year finish with half a million electrified BMW Group vehicles on the road, he added.
With 12 EVs in its product lineup, total sales of electrified BMW and MINI vehicles grew by 2.2 per cent to 145,815 cars. The BMW Group plans to expand its global range of electrified vehicles to cover 25 models by 2023 – more than half of them fully electric.
“Throughout 2019, we built upon many of the milestones we achieved in years past. We revolutionized driving pleasure with a range of innovations – such as the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant – that opened up new doors in the automotive world. Customer experience has been transformed digitally with our online sales channel, while historic strides were made in e-mobility with landmark events such as the inauguration of our first and only high-voltage battery assembly plant for BMW PHEVs in the ASEAN region in Chonburi, the online offer of the all-electric BMW i3s, and, earlier this month, the Asia Pacific premier of the all-electric MINI Cooper SE,” he added.
