KUALA LUMPUR: BMW Group Malaysia aims to sustain its bullish sales growth momentum this year in view of its positive first-quarter performance, said head of corporate communications Sashi Ambi.
He said in the first quarter of this year, total sales rose by 17.6% to 2,600 units from 2,210 units in the previous corresponding quarter.
During the same period, BMW recorded a 17.9% increase in sales year-on-year (y-o-y) to 2,138 units.
For MINI, sales rose by 5% y-o-y to 207 units with Motorrad rising 27.5% y-o-y to 255 units. He said MINI is the third largest brand in Malaysian premium car segment.
“Last year alone, the MINI contributed over 900 vehicles to the group’s performance, a 19% growth compared to 2015,” he told reporters after launching the new Countryman today.
The MINI comes in two variants - Cooper Countryman priced at RM239,888 and the Cooper S Countryman priced at RM269,888.
Currently, MINI has a 4% market share in the Malaysian premium car segment, with over 1,500 units delivered since 2011 with the previous Countryman model.
He said currently there were no plans to produce the Countryman locally as the group had recently opened a new factory in the Netherlands.
“This is the first model to be built at the new factory and the group plans to ramp up output, so there are no plans for it to be made locally as yet,” he said.
As of last year, the group delivered 10,906 units of BMW, MINI and Motorrad vehicles, 16% more compared to 2015.
