German luxury car makers aren’t suffering much in the economic downturn, posting a strong first quarter for sales, and setting new sales records. While sales are up for Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi in the U.S., it’s really the emerging global markets, with China leading the way, that are boosting their business.
BMW, the world’s leading premium auto manufacturer, said Friday that first quarter group sales rose 21.3 percent to 382,758 BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles—its best result ever for the three-month period.
Sales of BMW brand cars gained 14.6 percent to 134,892 in March and 20.8 percent to 321,175 for the first three months of the year. Rolls-Royce sales more than doubled in the quarter to 723. Audi, owned by Volkswagen AG, reported the best quarter in its history, with an increase of 18.4 percent to 312,600 vehicles.
Analysts point to many factors driving sales in the luxury sector: Executives in high-paying sectors such as banking and finance have returned to receiving bonuses; the stock market has risen to a level almost as high as it was before the 2008 meltdown; those with money enough for luxury cars before the crash of 2008 still have money; there is a lot of “new money” in emerging markets like China, India, Brazil and Russia looking for ways to spend it on luxury badged products.
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