National Press Release

Dealers embrace certified used cars and Sports Activity Vehicles as additional source of revenue. Broadened customer base to support new car sales when market turns.

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The demand for BMW's certified used vehicles in the U.S. has jumped off to an excellent 2009 start. In the first two months of 2009, BMW Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) sales are up by 24 percent to 19,000 units and the company is on track to beat last year's record number of 104,000 units continuing to lead the premium segment of the market.

In the current economic climate, BMW Certified Pre-Owned vehicles have become a significant source of revenue for BMW dealers, not only balancing new car sales but also generating additional aftersales and warranty business.

"Our CPO vehicle program has helped to broaden BMW's customer base in the U.S. considerably," says Peter Miles, Executive Vice-President of BMW of North America, LLC. "It is an important tool attracting a new generation of BMW buyers and we expect many to move up to new vehicles when the market improves, and this is another benefit in addition to helping our dealers to weather the current economic situation."

When adding the sales of new BMWs to those of certified used BMWs in 2008, dealers sold more than 350,000 vehicles to retail customers with every fourth BMW being Certified Pre-Owned. In 2009, the BMW sales program is designed to further increase the share of the CPO sales volume at BMW centers.

Every Certified Pre-Owned BMW comes with a protection plan that is designed to exceed customer expectations, since only the best pre-owned BMW vehicles -- recent models with less than 60,000 miles or less than 60 months old -- are selected for certification. In addition, BMW provides warranty coverage for every Certified Pre-Owned vehicle for a total of 6 years/100,000 miles (whichever comes first) from the vehicle's original in-service date.

    BMW Certified Pre-Owned Sales Statistics from 2007-2009

    Year                          BMW CPO Sales Volume       % Change
    2007                                   90,000               12%
    2008                                  104,000             16.5%
    2009 (Jan. - Feb. '09)                 19,000               24%

BMW Group In America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group's global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 338 BMW passenger car centers, 335 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 142 BMW motorcycle retailers, 83 MINI passenger car dealers, and 30 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group's sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet at:

www.bmwgroupna.com

www.bmwusa.com

www.bmwmotorcycles.com

www.miniusa.com

www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com

Journalist note: Information about the BMW Group and its products is available to journalists on-line at the BMW Group PressClub at the following address: www.press.bmwgroup.com. Broadcast quality video footage is available via The NewsMarket at www.thenewsmarket.com.

SOURCE BMW of North America, LLC