Posted by
michael on Monday, December 22, 2008 12:00:00 AM
* BMW group vehicle sales fall 25.4 percent
* BMW brand sales down 26.2 percent
FRANKFURT, Dec 5 - Global sales at BMW, the world's top premium carmaker, plunged by a quarter in November as even well-heeled consumers kept a tight grip on their wallets amd a sharp economic downturn.
Group vehicle sales fell 25.4 percent to 96,570 units, led down by a 26.2 percent drop at the flagship BMW brand, the company said on Friday.
Sales of Mini brand cars also fell 20.8 percent, while deliveries of luxury Rolls-Royce limousines declined 18.5 percent.
Group sales in the first 11 months of the year fell 1.8 percent to 1.3 million vehicles.
BMW shares were little changed on the news, trading down 4.8 percent at 19.655 euros by 0903 GMT while the DJ Stoxx European car sector index fell 3.9 percent.
Car sales across the globe have plummeted as consumers retrench in the face of mass layoffs and a credit crunch.
In Germany, Europe's biggest auto market, new car sales are expected to hit post-reunification lows this year and next before recovering somewwhat in 2010, the VDA auto industry association forecast this week. (Reporting by Michael Shields, editing by Knut Engelmann)