Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world’s largest maker of luxury autos, will expand the BMW and Mini model ranges to boost annual sales 55 percent over the next decade and fend off Volkswagen AG and Daimler AG.
BMW plans to widen the 6-Series and Mini model lines as well as build a battery-powered car for city driving, the CEO said. The maker of BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce vehicles is fighting to protect its turf from Volkswagen, the owner of Lamborghini, Bentley and Audi, as it merges with Porsche SE. Audi has vowed to topple BMW as the luxury leader by 2015. BMW claimed the top spot from Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz in 2005.
BMW shares have climbed 38 percent this year, outperforming Volkswagen’s 27 percent gain and Daimler’s 11 percent increase. The shares slipped 10 cents, or 0.2 percent, to 43.94 euros at the 5:30 p.m. close of trading in Frankfurt, valuing the carmaker at 28 billion euros ($35.6 billion).
VW, the Wolfsburg Empire is a formidable competitor.
ReplyDeleteThe Volkswagen Group in summary
The Volkswagen Group with its headquarters in Wolfsburg is one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers and the largest carmaker in Europe. In 2007, the Group increased the number of vehicles delivered to customers to 6.189 million (2006: 5.734 million), corresponding to a 9.8 percent share of the world passenger car market.
In Western Europe, the largest car market in the world, almost one in every five new cars (19.5 percent) comes from the Volkswagen Group. Group sales rose in 2007 to 108.9 billion euros (2006: 104.9 billion). Profit after tax in the 2007 financial year amounted to 4.12 billion euros (2006: 2.75 billion)
The Group is made up of nine brands from seven European countries: Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, Skoda, Scania and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.
Each brand has its own character and operates as an independent entity on the market. The product range extends from low-consumption small cars to luxury class vehicles. In the commercial vehicle sector, the product offering spans pick ups, busses and heavy trucks.
The Group operates 48 production plants in thirteen European countries and a further six countries in the Americas, Asia and Africa. Around the world, more than 360,000 employees produce almost 25,400 vehicles or are involved in vehicle-related services each working day. The Volkswagen Group sells its vehicles in more than 150 countries.
Recent corporate dance has been between VW and Porsche. Mar. 23: Germany's Volkswagen AG unveils the details of a rights issue that surpassed expectations and will help pay for the €3.9 billion ($5.3 billion) acquisition of a minority stake in Porsche AG.