No Worldwide Sales Record for BMW

BMW, which was already having a rough time in the United States this year, now concedes there’s no way it will top last year’s worldwide record sales of just over 1.3 million BMWs for the full year of 2008.

“In most Western European markets, Japan and the United States, sales for October were again lower than those for the same month last year,” said Ian Robertson, member of the board of management of BMW AG responsible for sales and marketing.

U.S. sales for the BMW brand were down 13.9 percent in October from the year-ago month, to 20,203. Year to date, U.S. sales for BMW were down 10 percent to 215,836.

The company had already conceded back in August that BMW would snap its 16-year streak of U.S. sales growth. The company’s Nov. 7 announcement said a worldwide record was out of the question as well, even though other markets have outperformed the United States. Developing markets in Asia and the former Soviet Union have been a positive note for automakers, especially luxury brands.

Worldwide, BMW-brand sales – Germany’s BMW Group also owns Rolls-Royce, Mini and BMW motorcycles – were down 1.1 percent through October, to just over 1 million.

BMW reported its October sales in China were up 35.6 percent, to 5,280; in Russia, up 39.7 percent, to 1,707; in India, up 10 percent to 220, but those markets are still too small to offset mature markets globally.

“Faced with the extremely challenging conditions in the automotive markets, we no longer expect to exceed last year’s record sales for the full year,” Robertson said in a written statement.

“We have adjusted our production output to reflect the market and remain focused on balancing supply and demand in the forthcoming months,” he said.

While still solidly profitable, BMW’s net income fell 62.9 percent in the third quarter, to 298 million euros (about $447 million).