2006 - a year of records for BMW Motorrad

An annual production of 100,000 motorcycles was achieved for the first time ever at BMW’s Berlin plant last year. This accomplishment was also matched in sales figures, as the magic ‘100,000 units’ was also exceeded for the first time.

A grand total of 100,064 BMW motorcycles were sold worldwide (the highest number ever supplied by the company to customers in a single year) and in keeping with the company’s roots, the 100,000th motorcycle was a Boxer – an R 1200 R classic roadster in Nocturnal Black.

Compared with the previous year (97,474 units) this equates to a sales increase of 2.7 per cent. Furthermore, another milestone was also achieved in 2006. The total number of BMW motorcycles produced since 1923 has now passed the two million mark. By the end of the year a total of 2,061,977 motorcycles had been produced – 1,616,016 of them having come off the production lines in Berlin-Spandau since 1969.

The European markets accounted for the lion’s share of this sales success. In Germany, 23,617 units had been supplied as of December, making BMW Motorrad the clear market leader in its home territory. The second strongest market for the company was Italy (13,651 units), followed by the USA (12,825 units) and Spain (10,002 units).

The R 1200 GS – along with its GS Adventure sister model – achieved phenomenal worldwide sales success in 2006, with 31,138 customer deliveries. Not only is it the clear market leader in the Adventure Sport segment but it is also probably one of the best-selling motorcycles worldwide in the ‘over 500cc’ category. Second to the GS was the award winning R1200 RT tourer (13,384 units), with the F 650 GS and GS Dakar singles selling 12,511 units globally.

Within a decade BMW Motorrad has become the biggest and most successful manufacturer of large-capacity motorcycles in Europe. Virtually the entire model line-up has been renewed over the past two years with 17 new motorcycles launched since 2004. But for managing director of BMW Motorrad, Dr. Herbert Diess, volume increase is not the ultimate objective:

"Our company strategy is long-term and oriented towards the permanent profitability of all products, it is not simply geared towards volume. Rankings in registration statistics are not the main focus of our interest. We invest carefully in innovations and technologies for new models, consolidating and extending our segments and market positions. This secures a strong market position for ourselves and our dealers."

BMW Motorrad starts 2007 with the arrival of five new models. The eagerly awaited three-model G 650 X single-cylinder series, and the K 1200 R Sport will all be available from dealerships in time for the New Season Launch on 10 March, with the exciting new HP2 Megamoto following in UK dealers in summer.

-Mark Harrison -