The BMW Group Middle East has posted a six per cent growth in sales across the region for the first half of this year, delivering a total of 16,706 BMW and MINI vehicles to customers in 12 markets.

The UAE remained the largest market, accounting for 59 per cent of BMW Group Middle East’s total sales. Abu Dhabi was once again the biggest seller with 6,962 cars sold, followed by Dubai, Sharjah & the Northern Emirates with 2,934, and Saudi Arabia with 2,243. Markets that maintained strong sales growth included Lebanon, increasing by 57 per cent, Oman by 29 per cent and Jordan by 18 per cent.

The strong half-year performance was a result of the company's top-of-the-range models that continue to be best-sellers across the region. The X model range accounted for 55 per cent of the overall Middle East sales, with the BMW X5 alone selling 5,288 cars, an impressive 109 per cent increase, and the BMW X6 selling 2,321. Meanwhile, the BMW 5 Series was also a strong contributor to BMW Group Middle East’s half year results, with 2,111 cars sold, cementing its position as the leader in the executive car segment.

Additionally, the MINI brand has also seen a substantial growth with a 13 per cent increase on last year’s figures, selling a total of 839 cars across all regional markets. The MINI 3-Door Hatch, which arrived last year, was the most popular model, leading the sales across eight markets. Dubai reported a 35 per cent increase in MINI volume sales while Lebanon experienced a staggering 51 per cent increase in year on year sales of the MINI range.

Meanwhile, the new MINI Clubman is scheduled to arrive in the Middle East in 2016.

Ahead of the launch of the all-new BMW 7 Series, the company also revealed that the 7 Series remains amongst its best-sellers with 1,384 cars sold, accounting for 8 per cent of total sales – retaining the Middle East’s position as the third largest market for the BMW 7 Series worldwide.

Johannes Seibert, managing director for BMW Group Middle East, said: “These results represent a healthy start to the year, and are testament not only to the strength of our brands and the innovative technology that comes with them, but also to our commitment to ensuring that we offer the right products for each market.”

“Our customers appreciate the very best a brand has to offer, which is why our top-end models are so successful and have been the main drivers behind our growth. Our increasing sales are also due to our partners‘ excellent retail services and customer relationships. They know the automotive premium business as well as the expectations of our customers very well, and so are another important factor to our success.”

“2015 so far has been very successful for us, also due to the positive results of the ongoing investment and commitment of our importers in the region. Towards the end of this year, we will launch the new BMW X1 that will further strengthen our X model range, as well as the highly anticipated BMW 7 Series.

"With our strong brands, attractive and innovative products, and excellent retail services provided by our importers, we expect our success to continue in the second half of the year, and that we’ll further strengthen our leading position amongst our European competitors,” Seibert added. – TradeArabia News Service