The result reflects BMW Group’s expectations for the month. Upcoming new products like the BMW 1 Series Coupe and Convertible, BMW’s Sports Activity Coupe X6, and the new twin-turbo charged Advanced Diesel engines for the 3 Series and the X5 all arriving later this year will push sales volumes again. MINI continues its success story in the U.S. with the launch of its third variant – the all new MINI Clubman – which hit the showrooms in February.

The BMW Group expects that BMW Group retail sales in the U.S. will be slightly ahead of 2007 at the end of this year.

Both the new X5 and the Z4 models are manufactured exclusively at the Spartanburg County BMW plant for worldwide distribution.

BMW Sports Activity Vehicles Sales:
X5 sales were up 21.3 percent this month to 3,539, from 2,917 in February 2008. Year-to-date, sales are up 9.5 percent, to 5,870 sold in February of this year from 5,363 sold in February of last year. Sales of BMW Sports Activity Vehicles (X5 & X3) were slightly down 0.5 percent for the month, to 4,906 vehicles compared to the 4,932 reported last February. Year-to-date, BMW SAV sales (X5 & X3) are down 9.1 percent to 8,328 vehicles from 9,165 in 2007.

Z4 Roadster Sales:
Z4 sales were down 7.4 percent to 524 in February 2008 from 566 in February 2007. Year-to-date Z4 sales total 887 in February 2008, down 14.5 percent from 1,038 in February 2008.

MINI Brand, MINI Automobiles Sales:
MINI USA reported a 44.2 percent increase in February sales, to 3,415 cars compared to 2,368 cars sold in the same period a year ago. MINI USA also reported sales of 5,875 for the first two months of 2008, an increase of 33.0 percent over the 4,418 sold in the same period a year ago.

BMW Brand Sales:
BMW brand sales were down 6.7 percent, to 20,775 vehicles compared to 22,274 vehicles sold during February 2007. Year-to-date, BMW reported sales of 35,250 vehicles compared to the 42,035 reported in the same period a year ago, a decrease of 16.1 percent.

Automobile Sales:
Monthly sales of BMW brand automobiles decreased 8.5 percent in February, to 15,869 versus 17,342 in 2007. For the first two months combined, BMW automobile sales decreased 18.1 percent to 26,922 versus 32,870 reported in the same period last year.

The Spartanburg County BMW plant, where the X5 SUV and Z4 roadster are manufactured exclusively for worldwide distribution, began recycling methane gas as an energy source at the Upstate BMW plant. The recycled methane gas, drawn from the Palmetto Landfill near spartanburg, supplies BMW with 25 percent of its energy needs. " Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christine Todd Whitman said, "This is a win-win for everyone. It avoids the need to burn methane. It yields significant amounts of clean energy. And, by avoiding 55,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, it results in cleaner, healthier air for everyone to breathe." Currently, employment at the spartanburg County plant totals approximately 4,600.

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand, the MINI brand, and the ROLLS-ROYCE brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, an industrial design firm in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all Z4 Roadster and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 340 BMW passenger car centers, 327 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 148 BMW motorcycle retailers, 80 MINI passenger car dealers, and 25 ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

(Images provided by BMW USA.)

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