Anthony Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 source: automotivenews.com BMW third-quarter profit rises 1% as China, Europe offset U.S. struggles BMW Group's third-quarter profit rose 1.1 percent as demand for its SUVs propelled sales in Europe and China, offsetting a slump in the U.S. .... Sales in the U.S. fell 8.7 percent in the first nine months, gained 10 percent in Europe and climbed 9.1 percent in Asia. BMW said sales conditions in the U.S., a market where sales of highly profitable SUVs have been strong, had become "volatile" in the third quarter. The company's U.S. struggles may be intensifying, after October sales for the namesake brand slumped 18 percent, driving down deliveries for the year through the first ten months by 9 percent. This contrasts with Mercedes and Audi reporting flat or slightly increases in sales. Full article at link: http://www.autonews.com/article/20161104/COPY01/311049933/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 It's only volatile to them because they don't have any SUVs to sell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 It's only volatile to them because they don't have any SUVs to sell What?? X1, X3, X6, and then their sort-o crossover hatchback lifted AMC Eagle things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rperez817 Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 (edited) Crossovers (or SAV as BMW calls them) were 47% of BMW brand U.S. auto sales last month. All X3, X4, X5, and X6 models are built at the BMW US Manufacturing Company plant in South Carolina; about 70% are exported to non-U.S. markets. Edited November 6, 2016 by rperez817 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
probowler Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 What?? X1, X3, X6, and then their sort-o crossover hatchback lifted AMC Eagle things. But those things are hideous... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 (edited) BMW suffered it biggest drop with its most popular model, the 3 series was just 5,211 sales last month down from 11,012 same time last year, that's a 52% drop and close on 6,000 car sales lost in a single month, very hard to compensate when buyers are just walking away and buying other products, the X series utilities were up slightly but nowhere near enough to compensate.... BMW are in a world of hurt. Link to BMW sales release Edited November 6, 2016 by jpd80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomcat68 Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 BMW suffered it biggest drop with its most popular model, the 3 series was just 5,211 sales last month down from 11,012 same time last year, that's a 52% drop and close on 6,000 car sales lost in a single month, very hard to compensate when buyers are just walking away and buying other products, the X series utilities were up slightly but nowhere near enough to compensate.... BMW are in a world of hurt. Link to BMW sales release Whoah! That's crazy scary for them! Almost every car suffered major double digit declines and the whole company is down 9% for the year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 (edited) Yep, "Volatile" in German must mean shit... Edited November 7, 2016 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 BMW are in a world of hurt. Or Maybe they're doing what Ford's doing because they see the market the way Ford sees the market. Volatile. Instability at the top of the demand cycle; companies throwing more money at the market trying to sustain demand, but unable to do so continually. Volatility. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron W. Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 very hard to compensate when buyers are just walking away and buying other products, Or Maybe they're doing what Ford's doing because they see the market the way Ford sees the market. Volatile. Or maybe people are coming to the realization that B.M.W. stands for Big Money Wasted. - 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rperez817 Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 Or maybe people are coming to the realization that B.M.W. stands for Big Money Wasted. - Especially with the softened driving dynamics in several BMW sedans and coupes. Jaguar and Cadillac have both outdone BMW when it comes to the "ultimate" driving experience. BMW of North America also cut back its warranty and maintenance programs, as well. I guess the U.S. market isn't as important as it used to be for BMW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 Or maybe people are coming to the realization that B.M.W. stands for Big Money Wasted. - Not that quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolt in blue Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 BMW also seems to not be taking the enthusiast market seriously anymore. Hard to find a new BMW with a stick today - yes, their highest performance models still have sticks available, but it used to be that you got performance anywhere in the lineup, and that no longer seems to be the case. I live in a high cost of living but also high traffic area. People can afford nice cars and there's a lot of enthusiasts around. I don't see as many BMWs as I used to. Ford performance models are very popular - I see almost as many Focus ST as any other trim level. I see more Fiesta ST than all other Fiesta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev-Mo Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 (edited) Do the math: BMW 3 series, X3 -they have had a 10+ year run of screaming success, based on emotion and self indulgence. Now that customer is maybe low to mid 40-ish. Perhaps either husband or wife does not work full time because there are 2.2 kids to look after. They have a 30 year mortgage that they suddenly realized will last to about their current life expectancy. They have monthly contracts for everything from the gym to numerous entertainment and mobile devices that are deducted from their account in the first week of the month, so that big lease payment is looking ominous. Health care for the family skyrocketing, day care, remodeling, new appliances, consumer debt -keeping up with Jones' is getting exhausting. Maybe time to think a bit more pragmatically. Problem for BMW is, the next wave of young 3 series buyers can't get past working at Starbucks or waiting tables - subsidies from Mom and Dad are drying up. Edited November 7, 2016 by Kev-Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 Again, this is what happens to market participants that get out of an overly inflated market. There are all these 'reasons' why their sales have fallen off--roughly the exact same reasoning brought forth on the Ford sales threads about their sales declines. And then, when the bubble pops, people talk about how obvious the bubble was, without being aware that they--perhaps--were denying the existence of a bubble earlier. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 (edited) One other company would be a coincidence but with several companies now seeing less participation in the market, perhaps this has nothing to do with products, maybe more to do with buyers just opting out....unless the are lured with massive incentives.... A better question may be to ask why buyers are opting out of them market, rather and navel gazing at products and marketing... I wonder if ths is only affecting some segments and not others like full sized trucks or will their time come in the next few weeks... Once the election is over, will that trigger another change? Edited November 8, 2016 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 There's also a fair amount of people like me who are totally underwater on their cars which is keeping them out of the market. I imagine it's a little worse in the luxury market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 There's also a fair amount of people like me who are totally underwater on their cars which is keeping them out of the market. I imagine it's a little worse in the luxury market. The thing is that most luxury cars are actually leases vs being bought. There is a huge difference in payments...you can lease a 2016 328i xDrive for $329 a month vs $723.24 (with Zero down) for a normal car note. Also lots of cars are being kept much longer then they have been in the past. The average age of a car is 11.5 years old as of 2015...and with the great recession starting in 2008 and not really going away till 2013 or so, we've seen high in sales with it now starting to contract due to demand being met and the overall market softening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 A better question may be to ask why buyers are opting out of them market Because they've already got cars. The market is cyclical and the problem comes when companies refuse to acknowledge that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 (edited) BMW is a huge seller in the US with a vast selection of SUVs and Crossovers. Sudden sales declines are seldom the fault of products, certainly not in BMW or Ford's case. Edited November 8, 2016 by BORG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 Because they've already got cars. The market is cyclical and the problem comes when companies refuse to acknowledge that. So the market or certain segments is now seeing buyer reductions because basically, vehicles have been sold to all those who wanted one and those buyers are not yet ready to renew their vehicles...I get it. The full sign is going up all over the market... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 The full sign is going up all over the market... Pretty sure that's a big part of it--fuzzy kind of nailed it when he talked about being upside down on his car. Think about it--in an effort to keep the market going, they're offering longer term loans, which just lengthens the time before today's borrower is going to be able to reenter the market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 Pretty sure that's a big part of it--fuzzy kind of nailed it when he talked about being upside down on his car. Think about it--in an effort to keep the market going, they're offering longer term loans, which just lengthens the time before today's borrower is going to be able to reenter the market. But part of the reason why you have longer terms is the costs of new car...there are lots of 40K+ plus CUV's and Trucks being sold out there and I'm assuming 5-6-7 year terms on them. Depending on the down payment, your looking at an easy $500 a month car payment, which is pretty significant for most people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbeck Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 The problem with the affordability argument is that people are choosing those $40,000 crossovers instead of $25-27,000 Accords, Camrys, Fusions, Malibus, etc. It's not as though mid-size sedans or even some compacts (such as the new Civic) are penalty boxes or 21st century versions of the old Rambler American. If there is an affordability problem, I'd say that a fair number of people have brought it on themselves with their vehicle choices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 Exactly. It's not like there aren't viable cheaper alternatives like a Nissan Versa in the $15K range or less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.