Having just caught up with the "Is the new 3 series is losing US market share?" thread, I did a search and found that the Sept numbers are out (sorry if this has been posted already).
Sept 2012 sales are 17% down compared to 2011, which is better than the -29% of the previous month. So some improvement, yet by now one would think sales would have improved a little more. But still, it's just a month.
The 5-series was down 61% in August! September is far better, but still 22% down compared to 2011. So it seems like August numbers were a combination of a fluke and creative pre-sale accounting.
But BMW passenger cars are down 7% for Sept 2012 compared to Sept 2011. Is there a trend? SUV sales are up 18% though. So is the X3 cannibalizing 3 sales? And is the 3 cannibalizing 5 sales?
Sept 2012 sales are 17% down compared to 2011, which is better than the -29% of the previous month. So some improvement, yet by now one would think sales would have improved a little more. But still, it's just a month.
The 5-series was down 61% in August! September is far better, but still 22% down compared to 2011. So it seems like August numbers were a combination of a fluke and creative pre-sale accounting.
But BMW passenger cars are down 7% for Sept 2012 compared to Sept 2011. Is there a trend? SUV sales are up 18% though. So is the X3 cannibalizing 3 sales? And is the 3 cannibalizing 5 sales?