SEAT concluded the first half of 2017 with its best commercial result since 2001.

• SEAT delivers 246,500 vehicles worldwide – up 13.7% compared to same period in 2016. And 12.6% sales increase in June versus previous year
• Commercial results in Spain, UK and Germany are the cornerstones of the success
• SEAT UK’s impressive “momentum” continues, with sales growth approaching 20% year-on-year
• Mexico, Turkey, Poland and Israel, in the top ten SEAT markets
• Fifth-generation Ibiza reaches showrooms

SEAT concluded the first half of 2017 with its best commercial result since 2001. The brand’s global sales grew by 13.7% compared to the same period in 2016, to stand at a total figure of 246,500 vehicles (2016: 216,800), nearly 30,000 more cars. In the month of June, SEAT sold 45,200 units, an increase of 12.6% against the same month in 2016 (40,100).

According to SEAT Vice-President for Marketing and Sales Wayne Griffiths, “in the first half of 2017 we reached the highest sales in 16 years. We continue to make double-digit progress and have established ourselves as one of the fastest-growing brands in Europe. 

Our growth is based on solid results in most markets, which are beginning to show the initial results of the biggest product offensive we launched in 2016 with the Ateca and continued at the beginning of the year with the updated Leon. 

With the new Ibiza and the new Arona, we are confident we can continue this positive development”.

SEAT sales went up in the first half of the year thanks to the excellent results in the major European countries, which all posted double-digit improvement. Spain led the growth with 54,100 cars sold (+21.2%), followed by Germany in second place with 48,600 SEAT vehicles delivered (+10.2%) and the United Kingdom third (29,500; +20.5%). France (13,300; +18.2%) and Italy (10,500; +14.6%) are also among the countries which increased sales by more than 10%.

Austria and Switzerland, two other Western European markets, also made a very positive contribution to SEAT’s sales. In the case of Austria, sales went up by 23.1% (total: 9,500 vehicles), whereas in Switzerland SEAT achieved an outstanding growth of 52.3% (total: 5,300). In both countries SEAT features among the ten best-selling brands. This boost in sales can also be seen in other regions of the world. Mexico is SEAT’s fifth largest global market (12,900; +6.4%); Turkey is the sixth (11,300; +0.5%); Poland the ninth (6,000; +22.3%) and Israel wraps up the top ten (5,500; +5.4%).

In the UK, SEAT has posted impressive registrations of 29,941 year-to-date - 4,857 more than the same timeframe in 2016 – including striking True Fleet sales growth of 63%. In June, the Barcelona-based brand delivered stellar growth of 15% compared to the previous year.

Commenting on SEAT UK’s continued expansion, Director Richard Harrison said, “Our sustainable growth plan is really starting to pay off. The effort which the entire UK team is putting in, both at head office and dealer level, is paying huge dividends, which is clearly evident by the fact that we’ve smashed sales records in five out of the last six months alone. We’re the fastest growing volume manufacturer, up just shy of 20% year-on-year, and on track to post the best sales results our brand has ever achieved. The icing on the cake is that this is without the added impetus of the All-new Ibiza and New Arona, which haven’t even launched in showroms yet. Against a backdrop of other car brands slipping back, the performance of the SEAT team is really impressive.”

SEAT began the first half of 2017 with New Leon, the brand’s top seller, which reached UK showrooms in February. In addition, and in the framework of the largest product offensive in the history of SEAT, the fifth-generation Ibiza was also presented in the first part of the year and is due to launch in UK showrooms next Friday; the FR trim was added to the Ateca range, and the 26th June saw the covers come off of the exciting new compact crossover Arona, which will be sold in the final quarter of the year. In 2018, the brand’s SUV range will be completed with a third vehicle with up to seven seats, which will be positioned one segment above the Ateca.

BMW Group sales grow over the month and first half, RR are down awaiting the new Phantom.

• BMW Group sales in first half-year up 5.0% to 1,220,819
• Electrified vehicles sales increase 80% to 42,573
• BMW Group delivers 232,620 vehicles in June, up 2.1%
• BMW sales increase 2.0%, totalling 192,873
• MINI sales grow 3.0% to 39,443
• Market launch of MINI Countryman PHEV grows electrified range to nine models

BMW Group sales achieved their best ever June, with sales in the month totalling 232,620, a 2.1% increase year-on-year. It was also a record first half-year with sales of the BMW Group’s three premium brands, BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, increasing by 5.0%; a total of 1,220,819 vehicles have been delivered to customers around the world so far this year.

“June rounds off our best ever first half-year and the BMW Group remains the world’s leading premium car company,” commented Dr Ian Robertson, Member of the BMW AG Board of Management with responsibility for Sales and Brand BMW. 

“We’ve already sold more than a million BMW vehicles this year, which is a new first-half-year record. June also saw our successful electrification strategy expand still further to include the MINI brand, meaning customers can now choose from nine electrified BMW Group vehicles. 

With sales of these models up by eighty per cent compared with the first half of last year, we’re looking forward to celebrating delivery of the 200,000th electrified BMW Group vehicle later this year,” he continued.

The BMW brand achieved its best-ever first half-year, topping the million mark for the first time ever by this point in the year. Global BMW sales totalled 1,038,030 units, an increase of 5.2% on the same period last year. Sales of BMW brand vehicles in June totalled 192,873, up 2.0% compared with the same month last year. A wide range of models throughout the range contributed to this growth. Sales of the BMW X1 increased 45.2% (136,748) in the first half-year while deliveries of the BMW X5 increased by 10.6% (89,958). BMW 1 Series sales grew by 6.5% (91,802) in the first half-year, while deliveries of the flagship BMW 7 Series increased during the same period by 26.9% (32,290).

June saw the arrival of the MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 in the dealerships, the ninth electrified vehicle from the BMW Group which is available to purchase today. The popularity of the BMW Group’s innovative premium electrified vehiclescontinues to grow at a rapid rate: in the first six months of the year, a total of 42,573 BMW i, BMW iPerformance and MINI Electric vehicles were delivered to customers, an increase of 79.8% on the same period last year. First-half-year production of electrified vehicles totalled 51,725. The BMW Group is well on track to achieve its target of selling 100,000 electrified vehicles in 2017.

Sales of MINI brand vehicles achieved a new record for June with 39,443 units delivered to customers around the world, an increase of 3.0% compared with the same month last year. June rounded off the brand’s record first half year, with sales totalling 181,214 (+3.6%). “MINI continues to achieve sustainable growth in sales around the world,” said Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the BMW AG Board of Management responsible for MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad. “Sales of the new MINI Countryman are particularly pleasing and I’m delighted that with the launch in June of the MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4, electric mobility is now available on a large scale from the MINI brand. Customer interest in this car has been extremely high and I’m confident we will see continued growth across the brand in the second half of the year,” he added.

In the first half of 2017, the Goodwood-based Rolls-Royce brand delivered 1,575 (-6.5%) motor cars to customers. The same period in 2016 was particularly strong due to the popularity of the newly introduced Rolls-Royce Dawn. This base effect, and the absence from the market of the Phantom pending the introduction of the new Phantom later this year, account for the decrease in sales year-on-year. Despite considerable ongoing headwinds in the luxury sector in several regions, Rolls-Royce continues to strive for long-term sustainable growth.

BMW Motorrad achieved its best-ever June with a total of 17,260 motorcycles and maxi-scooters delivered to customers, an increase of 15.1% on the same month last year.

Those figures helped BMW Motorrad achieve a record first half-year with sales totalling 88,389 in the first six months of the year, up 9.5% on the same period last year.

BMW & MINI sales in the regions/markets at a glance

With the automotive market experiencing challenges in several significant markets, the BMW Group continues to follow its policy of balancing sales around the world to achieve sustainable, profitable growth.

Europe is the BMW Group’s most significant sales area and despite recent downturns in the region’s two largest markets, Germany and the UK, overall BMW Group sales for the first half of 2017 are up 2.2%.

BMW Group sales in Asia continue to achieve significant growth this year, driven mainly by China, where combined BMW and MINI deliveries are up 18.4% in the first half-year.

This strong increase is largely due to full availability of the BMW X1 and the popularity of the new BMW 1 Series sedan, a car designed exclusively for China.

BMW and MINI sales in the Americas continue to be affected by the decline in the overall automotive market in the USA. Meanwhile sales in other markets in the region maintain their positive growth, with BMW Group deliveries in Mexico and Latin America achieving a further double-digit increase.

WORLDWIDE SALES JUNE - MERCEDES/SMART - the combined brand grows by a huge margin in the first half & June.

• Mercedes-Benz sales up by 13.7 percent to 1,144,274 units in first half of year
• Strongest half-year unit sales in the history of Mercedes-Benz
• Biggest contributions to growth from China (+34.5%) and South Korea (+47.3%)
• Continued success with best-ever sales of E-Class (+68.4%) and SUVs (+13.4%)

In the first six months of 2017, Mercedes-Benz was more successful than ever before in a half-year. 209,309 cars were delivered to customers in June (+11.1%) and 1,144,274 in the first six months of the year (+13.7%). 

The Stuttgart-based company with the three-pointed star thus set new sales records, significantly surpassing its prior-year unit sales both in June and in the first six months of the year. In addition, the second quarter was the best-ever quarter with 583,649 vehicles delivered worldwide (+11.6%). 

In terms of new cars registered, Mercedes-Benz was the strongest premium brand in the domestic market Germany, as well as in the markets Italy, France, Belgium, Portugal, Austria, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, the USA, Canada and Brazil in June.

“We have posted the strongest half-year in the history of Mercedes-Benz with sales of significantly more than a million cars,” stated Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales. “Not only the popularity of our E-Class family contributed to this success; demand for our SUVs is also as high as ever in all regions.”

Mercedes-Benz unit sales by region and market

In Europe, Mercedes-Benz increased its sales to a new high: In the first half of the year, 484,120 vehicles were handed over to customers, which is 8.9% more than in the prior-year period. 

Of that total, 151,790 vehicles were sold in Germany (+6.3%). The Stuttgart-based company with the star set new records for the first half of a year in the high-volume markets of Great Britain, France, Spain, Belgium and Switzerland.

The region with the strongest growth in unit sales since the beginning of the year was Asia-Pacific. Thanks to an increase of 26.7%, 438,710 Mercedes-Benz cars were handed over to customers, more than ever before in a half-year. 292,679 of those automobiles with the star went to customers in China – an increase of 34.5%. 

This is significantly higher than the previous record number of cars sold in China in the prior-year period and to a large extent reflects the strong sales of locally produced vehicles. Mercedes-Benz achieved further first-half sales records in the markets South Korea (+47.3%), Australia (+8.5%), Taiwan (+10.9%) and India (+8.7%).

Mercedes-Benz posted the strongest first half-year in unit sales in its history also in the NAFTA region: 193,399 vehicles were sold in the USA, Canada and Mexico, which is 2.1% more than in the prior-year period. June sales of 34,894 units in that region were also at a new record level (+5.0%). 

Of that number, 28,994 automobiles were delivered to customers in the USA (+1.8%), more than ever before in a June.

Mercedes-Benz unit sales by model

More than 210,000 units of the C-Class Saloon and Estate were sold in the first six months of the year, making the C-Class the bestseller in the Mercedes-Benz portfolio once again. 

The biggest sales market was China, where double-digit growth and a new sales record were achieved thanks to ongoing strong demand for the long version of the C-Class Saloon.

Demand for the world’s most intelligent business saloon and estate continues at a high level: In the first half of the year, sales of these two E-Class models increased to 181,940 units (+68.4%). 

As of now, it is also possible to order the new E-Class Cabriolet, which strengthens this successful Mercedes-Benz model series. With the Saloon, Estate, Cabriolet, Coupé and All-Terrain, Mercedes-Benz offers with the E-Class the broadest model range amongst the premium manufacturers in the upper range.

From January to June, the Stuttgart-based company with the three-pointed star delivered 385,044 SUVs to its customers, which is an increase of 13.4%. 

From the GLA to the G-Class, these vehicles are extremely popular all over the world. Mercedes-Benz set new records not only worldwide, but also in each of its core regions Europe, Asia-Pacific and NAFTA. The bestseller among the SUVs was the GLC, followed by the GLA.

smart

smart sold approximately 70,000 cars to its customers worldwide in the first half of the year. The urban microcar was especially popular in China and Great Britain, where more cars were sold than ever before in the first half of a year. 

The new smart electric drive will stimulate additional sales; deliveries of the new electric smart fortwo and forfour started in Europe last month.

Overview of sales by Mercedes-Benz Cars

	June 2017	Change in %	Jan. – June 2017	Change in %
Mercedes-Benz	209,309	+11.1	1,144,274	+13.7
smart	12,565	-4.4	69,874	-4.9
Mercedes-Benz Cars	221,874	+10.1	1,214,148	+12.4
Mercedes-Benz unit sales in the region/market
Europe	90,391	+4.3	484,120	+8.9
- thereof Germany	29,206	+1.4	151,790	+6.3
Asia-Pacific	78,712	+23.5	438,710	+26.7
- thereof China	50,090	+28.3	292,679	+34.5
NAFTA	34,894	+5.0	193,399	+2.1
- thereof USA	28,994	+1.8	161,960	-0.5

Volvo see's sales, revenues and profits all raise in the first half of the year, January-June

Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, has reported strong growth in operating profit of SEK6.8bn in the first half of 2017, compared with SEK5.6bn for the same period last year, after taking market share across Europe and experiencing a robust sales increase in China.

Revenues rose to SEK99.1bn from SEK84.2bn in the first six months of 2016, while the operating profit margin improved to 6.8 per cent from 6.6 per cent a year earlier, even as the company continues to invest heavily in new cars and technologies.

Sales for the first six months of the year increased 8.2 per cent compared with the same period last year to 277,641 cars. The first-half increase in sales means Volvo Cars remains firmly on course for a fourth consecutive record year.

“We have reported strong profits at the same time as making ongoing investments in our transformation,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive. “Our momentum continues to build.”

During the first half of 2017, the company took market share in the EMEA region, following healthy growth in several key markets. Sales were up by 6.6 per cent during the period.

In the Asia Pacific region and China in particular, Volvo outperformed the market. Sales in the region increased by 22.6 per cent, while China sales were up 27.6 per cent.

In the US, Volvo Cars expects to report solid full-year growth after a strong second half of the year. Delivery constraints affected first-quarter sales, but a return to growth during the second quarter and the impending start of delivery of the new XC60 mid-size SUV point to a stronger finish.

“Globally, we expect the pace of growth generated in the first half of the year to continue. We are confident we will report another record year in terms of sales,” said Mr. Samuelsson.

Later this year, Volvo Cars will launch its all-new XC40, its first entry into the fast-growing small premium SUV segment, completing the company’s SUV line-up

Nissan Motor Company has announced sales and production for the first six months of its fiscal year.

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today announced its production, sales and export figures for September and the six months from April to September 2016.

"We have continued to grow throughout the first half of the fiscal year, resulting in record sales and production over the period," said executive vice president Daniele Schillaci, global head of marketing and sales. 

"This growth has been supported by demand for core models in some of our largest markets, such as the Rogue in the U.S., the Versa and NP300 Frontier in Mexico, and the Qashqai and Sylphy in China.

"In the last few months alone, we launched our ProPILOT single-lane autonomous drive technology on the Serena minivan in Japan, we unveiled the revolutionary new Micra at the Paris Motor Show, and we started production of the redesigned Note in Japan, featuring our e-Power technology. We are confident that this ongoing influx of new products and technologies will continue to set the stage for further growth."

1. Production

September

Nissan's global production in September increased 11.2 percent year-on-year to 485,154 units, the eighth consecutive month of increase and a record for the month of September.

Production in Japan increased 7.0 percent year-on-year to 77,714 units, the second consecutive month of increase.

Production outside Japan increased 12.0 percent year-on-year to 407,440 units, the seventeenth consecutive month of increase and a record for the month of September.

In the U.S., production increased 2.8 percent year-on-year to 88,489 units, a record for the month of September.

In Mexico, production decreased 6.7 percent year-on-year to 65,681 units.

In the U.K., production increased 6.6 percent year-on-year to 50,133 units, a record for the month of September.

In Spain, production increased 64.4 percent year-on-year to 12,288 units.

In China, production increased 34.3 percent year-on-year to 127,748 units, a record for the month of September.

Production in other regions increased 9.5 percent year-on-year to 63,101 units.

April-September

Nissan's global production from April to September increased 7.5 percent year-on-year to 2,708,441 units, the third consecutive year of increase and a record high for the April-September period.

In Japan, production increased 3.6 percent year-on-year to 431,405 units, the second consecutive year of increase.

Production outside of Japan increased 8.2 percent year-on-year to 2,277,036 units, the seventh consecutive year of increase and a record for the April-September period.

In the U.S., production increased 4.6 percent year-on-year to 495,860 units, a record for the April-September period.

In Mexico, production increased 3.1 percent year-on-year to 425,092 units, a record for the April-September period.

In the U.K., production increased 10.6 percent year-on-year to 257,513 units, a record for the April-September period.

In Spain, production increased 32.1 percent year-on-year to 63,528 units.

In China, production increased 11.0 percent year-on-year to 633,153 units, a record for the April-September period.

Production in other regions increased 9.6 percent year-on-year to 401,890 units.

2. Sales

September

Global sales increased 6.0 percent year-on-year to 488,307 units, the second consecutive month of increase and a record for the month of September.

Japan:

Sales including mini-vehicles decreased 16.3 percent year-on-year to 47,350 units.

• Vehicle registrations decreased 11.0 percent year-on-year to 33,468 units.
• Mini-vehicle sales decreased 26.6 percent year-on-year to 13,882 units.

Sales outside Japan increased 9.1 percent year-on-year to 440,957 units, a record for the month of September.

In the U.S., sales increased 4.9 percent year-on-year to 127,797 units, a record for the month of September.

In Mexico, sales increased 15.1 percent year-on-year to 32,588 units, a record high for the month of September.

In Europe, sales increased 2.1 percent year-on-year to 80,384 units, a record high for the month of September.

In China, sales increased 26.3 percent year-on-year to 123,612 units, a record high for the month of September.

April-September

Global sales increased 1.7 percent year-on-year to 2,633,615 units, the seventh consecutive year of increase and a record for the April-September period.

Japan:

Sales including mini-vehicles decreased 20.2 percent year-on-year to 211,222 units.

• Vehicle registrations decreased 6.5 percent year-on-year to 164,636 units.
• Mini-vehicle sales decreased 47.5 percent year-on-year to 46,586 units.

Sales outside Japan increased 4.2 percent year-on-year to 2,422,393 units, the seventh consecutive year of increase and a record for the April-September period.

In the U.S., sales increased 3.7 percent year-on-year to 782,820 units, a record for the April-September period.

In Mexico, sales increased 14.8 percent year-on-year to 190,756 units, a record for the April-September period.

In Europe, sales decreased 1.4 percent year-on-year to 362,123 units.

In China, sales increased 12.1 percent year-on-year to 630,501 units, a record for the April-September period.

3. Exports from Japan

September

Exports in September increased 40.3 percent year-on-year to 51,856 units, the fifth consecutive month of increase.

April-September

Exports increased 9.1 percent year-on-year to 272,509 units, the second consecutive year of increase.