BMW sees growth in Mideast used car sales

Demand among Middle East motorists for used cars is outstripping new vehicle sales by two to one, according to BMW Group.

The German car manufacturer said on Sunday that sales for Premium Selection, its used cars service, have increased more than 20 percent in this year’s opening quarter.

In contrast, new models are proving far less attractive with a 9 percent decline during the same period as buyers hit by the economic downturn look for cheaper vehicles.  

“Growth of the used car business is faster than new cars at the moment. If we are looking to the end of April, volumes have increased roughly 20-23% which is very encouraging,” said James Crichton, sales and marketing director of BMW Group Middle East.

“We have seen about an 8 percent decline on new BMW car sales this year versus last year when looking at January through to March. Looking at it as a group for BMW and MINI, we are probably down about 9 percent, so our MINI volume is down more than our BMW volume.”

Premium Selection sales are up 59 percent compared with Q1 of 2008, the group said. The company has sold 456 vehicles up to May this year, with Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Bahrain accounting for most sales.

While registering a 9 percent decline in new car sales, BMW has increased its market share in the Middle East by 2 percent.

The 7 Series, X6 Sports Activity Coupe and X5 were the biggest sellers, with 584, 1,118 and 510 new vehicles sold respectively during this year’s opening quarter.  

Despite the drop in new car sales, Crichton insisted the Middle East division was in better shape than other BMW markets.

“Compared to international results, our group decline of 9 percent is very encouraging,” he said. “For the year to date we are 9 percent down, and I am hoping to get that decline lower as we move through the year.

“I would like to see about 7 percent or 5 percent running through the year, but I don’t expect to see us exceed last year’s [new car sales] volumes.

Launched in the Middle East three years ago, Premium Service has been rolled out to eight markets including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

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