BMW Group Q1 Sales Tumble
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (OTC: BAMXF) registered a significant slump in its first-quarter vehicle sales due to slowdown in China, Europe and U.S. economic activity.
What Happened
The group, which includes BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles, reported a 20.6% drop to 477,111 vehicles in the first quarter, Bloomberg reported. Meanwhile, BMW standalone sales were down 20.6% to 411,809 vehicles.
The year 2020 began with positive growth for BMW until retail outlets sales numbers were damaged by the rapid outburst of the COVID-19. China sales had dented by February while European and U.S. markets reflected lower sales by March.
From January to March, China sales were down 30.9% while Europe and U.S. they dipped 18.3% and 17.4% respectively, Reuters reported.
BMW Next Steps
"We are responding to the worldwide challenging sales situation due to the corona pandemic and are adapting our production volume flexibly to demand,” BMW’s sales head Pieter Nota said in the statement, Bloomberg reported.
He further added that Chinese markets are indicating the first signs of recovery with some new orders.
Right now, 80% of its European retail outlets and 70% of U.S. outlets are closed. The company plans to commence operations at its plants from April 20th.
See more from Benzinga
© 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
