BMW Sales Down 15.5% for January; Only 23 7-Series Sold

Justin Berkowitz
by Justin Berkowitz

The fact that BMW’s sales are down compared to January of last year should come as no surprise. These aren’t just cars, they’re luxury goods. What’s significant is the breakdown of model sales. The 3-Series and X5 sold 5471 units combined—44% of BMW’s entire sales for the month of January. Add in the 2596 units of 5-Series sold and between those three models (3, 5, X5) you have twice as many cars as the rest of BMW’s lineup combined. To wit: the 1-Series sold 716, the BMW Z4 roadster and coupe sold 45 units (down from 363 last January), the putrid X6 managed only 266 sales and the spine-crunching X3 registered 394 sales. And then there are the 6-Series (304 sold) and the 7-Series at a whopping 23 units. The explanation is that the next-generation 7-Series hits BMW dealers in a few months; same for the next-gen Z4. It’s not all bad news for BMW though—the M sub-brand had a record year in 2008, with its sales rising 50% over 2007. Dealers report that the boost in sales came from offering to throw in a free tub of hair gel with each sale.

Justin Berkowitz
Justin Berkowitz

Immensely bored law student. I've also got 3 dogs.

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  • RetardedSparks RetardedSparks on Feb 04, 2009

    @Hwanung: All that brake dust will just wash right off....!

  • Guyincognito Guyincognito on Feb 04, 2009

    @ like.a.kite : Sorry, something about the X6 causes me to use excessive hyperbole.

  • Justin Berkowitz Justin Berkowitz on Feb 04, 2009
    Landcrusher : I would never buy an 8 cylinder BMW. Forget it. Anecdotal evidence from the BMWs I, and my close friends, have owned tells the tale. The inline 6’s are marvelous, and the 8’s are in the shop much too often with much too high bills. So, I am not surprised they can’t sell the 7’s. I think the real reason they're not selling 7-Series right now is, as I said in the original post, that BMW is winding down the current model. The replacement will be on lots in a few months (weeks, even), and I would bet that sales will be quite strong. Keep in mind also that plenty of people buying the 7-Series aren't doing research into reliability. Especially those that are leasing or won't own the car out of warranty.
  • Ricky Spanish Ricky Spanish on Feb 04, 2009

    lol @ hairgel so perfect, so true.

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