Sales on BMW manufactured vehicles showed a decrease in April and year-to-date but Global sales reported gains, according to the automobile manufacturer.
Sales of BMW brand vehicles decreased 7.4 percent in April for a total of 24,951 compared to 26,952 vehicles sold in April 2015, according BMW’s monthly report.
Year-to-date, BMW brand is down 9.4 percent on sales of 95,564 compared to 105,444 sold in the first four months of 2015.
Notable vehicle sales include the BMW 2 Series which increased by 76.4 percent, the BMW X1 which increased 63.3 percent, and the BMW X6, made in Greer, which increased by 16.5
Overall, BMW Global reported a net profit of 8.2 percent, ($1.88 billion) in the first quarter. U.S. sales were down 10.8 percent but China showed a 10.5 percent jump and Europe a 9.5 percent to sustain the growth.
In its quarterly report Tuesday, BMW reported earnings would "increase slightly" and cautioned that the company faced rising personnel costs and high levels of investment in new projects and technology. Long-term investment is critical to coming up with top-selling vehicles, but can divert money from earnings in the shorter run.
Greer’s plant is undergoing a $1 billion expansion with the new X7 scheduled for launch this year.
“April is always a volatile month for BMW with model changeover taking place in some of our very popular X models, and the improving consumer confidence that typically follows the arrival of Spring still developing,” said Ludwig Willisch, President and CEO, BMW of North America.
“The numbers for the BMW 2 Series and the BMW X1 show the very strong following our smaller vehicles continue achieving and I expect our high demand X models to show gains as availability improves in months ahead.”