BMW Malaysia registers 16 per cent sales growth

KUALA LUMPUR: BMW Group Malaysia (BMW) registered a 16 per cent sales growth in 2016, marking the sixth consecutive year of recorded sales by the company.

In a statement, BMW said it delivered 10,906 units of BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad vehicles last year compared with 9,368 units in 2015.

“The BMW brand grew to a record of 20 per cent in 2016, delivering 9,000 BMW vehicles from 7,515 vehicles in 2015.

The MINI brand recorded a 19 per cent growth by delivering 902 vehicles from 756 in the previous year while BMW Motorrad delivered 1,004 motorcycles in 2016.

“The record- breaking achievement is in tandem with that of the BMW Group which achieved its best ever sales in 2016 with 2,367,603 vehicles sold worldwide,” it said.

BMW Group Malaysia Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer Han Sang Yun said the continued and growing support from customers and network of dealerships were the main factors for the achievement.

Han said BMW will introduce and drive more innovation for the premium automotive industry in 2017.

“The move will also be a preparation for our export hub initiatives to Vietnam and the Philippines in 2018 for the BMW 3, 5 and 7 Series.

“We will see an increase in expertise in our local assembly capabilities to over 10,000 vehicles this year from over 7,000 vehicles in 2016,” he said, adding that over RM10 million had been invested so far.

Han said a new regional parts distribution centre ( PDC) would open in the second half of the year at Airport Logistics Park in the Free Industrial Zone of Johor’s Senai International Airport, occupying over 484,376 square feet.

“The RM130 million facility will be one of the largest BMW facility in the region.

“The new PDC will replace the current centre in the Free Trade Zone of the Tanjung Pelepas port in Johor and is expected to support over 22 countries in the region,” he said. — Bernama