Advertisement

BMW

BMW and VW celebrate strong sales

AFP/The Local
AFP/The Local - [email protected]
BMW and VW celebrate strong sales
Photo: DPA

Two German car giants unveiled soaring sales and profits on Thursday. BMW said it achieved record earnings while Volkswagen hopes to sell a record 10 million vehicles this year.

Advertisement

VW chief executive Martin Winterkorn said: "There is a good chance that we will already exceed the ten million deliveries mark this year - four years earlier than originally planned."

VW "made a healthy start to 2014," Winterkorn said. In the first two months, about 1.5 million passenger cars and light commercial vehicles were delivered worldwide, a year-on-year increase of 4.7 percent.

This year and next year, VW - with a wide range of brands including Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, Skoda, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Scania and MAN - would launch more than 100 new models, successors and product enhancements, he added.

In 2013, worldwide deliveries rose by 4.9 percent to 9.7 million vehicles.

Revenues were up 2.2 percent at €197 billion and operating profit reached a record €11.7 billion.

Bottom-line profit, on the other hand, fell to €9.1 billion in 2013 from €21.9 billion a year earlier, largely because the 2012 figure had been positively impacted by measures in connection with the integration of sports car maker Porsche. 

BMW, meanwhile, reported record sales and profits in 2013.

BMW chief executive Norbert Reithofer said: "With its fourth straight record year, the BMW group's strong performance continued during the past year despite a challenging economic environment worldwide."

He said BMW's net profit rose by 4.5 percent to €5.34 billion in 2013. Pre-tax profit was up 1.4 percent at €7.913 billion.

Revenues slipped by one percent, but unit sales jumped by 6.4 percent to a record 1.964 million vehicles, with all three brands - BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce - "registering all-time highs,” Reithofer said.

BMW said it would increase its dividend payment so as to “share its success with shareholders”.

"We forecast further sales volume growth in the current year which will again bring us a new all-time high. In doing so, we should exceed the threshold of two million vehicles," Reithofer added.

SEE ALSO: BMW donation to Merkel's party sparks fears

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also