Un troisième trimestre très satisfaisant pour le BMW Group

Munich. Suite à un troisième trimestre très satisfaisant, le BMW Group est en
bonne voie pour réaliser sa meilleure année historique. « Nous sommes en très
bonne position pour atteindre un profit record avant impôts de quatre milliards
d'euros, ainsi qu'un nouveau record de ventes pour l'année en cours » a
confirmé Norbert Reithofer, Président du Directoire de BMW AG, ce jeudi à
Munich.

Comme annoncé pour la deuxième moitié de l'année, le troisième trimestre a été,
entre autres, caractérisé par un développement des ventes plus modéré, résultat
du cycle de vie de certains modèles et des effets de base. Les revenus du
groupe ont légèrement reculé de 1.4% pour atteindre 11,557 million d'euros
(année précédente : 11,721). Le profit avant impôts a augmenté de 9.4% pour
atteindre 720 millions d'euros (année précédente : 658). Le retour avant taxes
sur les ventes a atteint 6.2% (année précédente : 5.6%). Suite à une
augmentation des taxes, le profit net à légèrement baissé de 0.7% au cours du
trimestre pour atteindre 452 millions d'euros (année précédente : 455) alors
que les bénéfices par action ont atteint 0.69€ (année précédente : 0.68€ donc +
1.5%).
Record result for the year to September

Over the first nine months of the business year, the BMW Group increased profit
before taxes by 34.9% to a new record level of € 3,248 (previous year: 2,407)
million. This includes the first-quarter book gain of € 375 million from the
partial settlement of an exchangeable bond on shares in the British engine
manufacturer Rolls-Royce plc held by BMW AG. In the previous year, earnings
were adversely affected by fair value losses on the exchangeable bond option.
Even excluding the exceptional gain, the company achieved a considerable growth
in earnings of 9.5% to € 2,888 million. Profit after tax rose by 32.5% to
€ 2,187 (previous year: 1,650) million; revenues grew by 6.2% to € 36,368
(previous year: 34,237) million.

The operating cash flow from industrial operations declined by 23.5% to
€ 3,998 (previous year: 5,228) million as vehicles were pre-produced prior to
the launch of important new models such as the BMW X5, the model update of the
BMW X3 and the MINI.

External factors continue to affect result situation

Currency effects and high raw material prices continued to affect the result
situation in the reporting period. Among other things, currency burdens could
be attributed to more unfavorable hedging rates compared to last year. While
the BMW Group mainly had to cope with burdens caused by the US dollar
throughout the first half of the year, the third quarter was characterised by a
negative impact arising from the Japanese yen.

Despite the fact that external adverse factors are not going to reach last
year's high level again in 2006, the BMW Group is continuing to counter these
effects with ongoing measures to raise efficiency and productivity. The company
expects further positive result contributions from the anticipated retail
record as well as from improvements in the model mix. Profit before taxes are
thus going to be higher than last year, even excluding the book gain arising
from the partial settlement of the exchangeable bond.

Slight rise in workforce

To the end of the third quarter 2006, the number of employees rose slightly.
The company currently employs a staff of 107,027 worldwide, up 0.2% from the
respective reporting date last year (106,859).

Numerous new model releases

Over the course of the current year, the BMW Group is again launching numerous
new models. Deliveries of the new BMW 3 Series Coupe, the model update of the
BMW X3 as well as the M6 Convertible started in September. The new X5 as well
as a long version of the BMW 5 Series specifically developed for the Chinese
market will also be presented this year. Furthermore, the BMW Group will be the
world's first automotive manufacturer to launch a hydrogen-powered sedan for
everyday use in December. The Hydrogen 7, which is based on the BMW 760i, is
going to be available from next year on.
The first variants of the new MINI generation, the Cooper and Cooper S, are
going to be released in November. Rolls-Royce has started the development of a
new model series which is to be positioned below the Phantom.

Retail volume for the year to September rises to new record level

During the first nine months of the year, the BMW Group sold more vehicles than
ever before, thus underpinning its position as the world's leading automotive
manufacturer in the premium segment. Retail volume of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce
vehicles increased by 3.3% to 1,021,534 units (previous year: 988,463). It was
the first time in the company's history that one-million mark for vehicles sold
had already been beaten by the end of the third quarter.

For the year to September, deliveries of the BMW brand improved by 5.5% to
874,208 vehicles (previous year: 828,586). The BMW 1 Series managed to
strengthen its market position with sales rising by 2.2% to 116,684 vehicles
(previous year: 114,188). The core model series - the BMW 3, 5 and 7 Series -
also recorded sales increases. Deliveries of the model series with the highest
retail volume, the BMW 3 Series, soared by 20.5% to 374,996 units (previous
year: 311,324). In terms of retail growth, the bestseller among the 3 Series
model range was the Touring variant that almost doubled sales compared to the
previous year, to 78,357 vehicles (previous year: 39,329/+99.2%).

By the end of September, 169,595 BMW 5 Series vehicles were sold. Last year's
high reference level (166,121) could thus be topped by 2.1%. The BMW flagship,
the 7 Series, grew by 8.2% to 36,784 units (previous year: 33,983).

Deliveries of the MINI brand were further slowed down by construction measures
at Plant Oxford carried out for the purpose of expanding capacities and
setting-up production for the new MINI generation. At 146,851 vehicles
delivered to customers, sales remained 7.9% below last year's level (159,413).
The new MINI generation is going to be launched in Europe on November 18. At
that time, the necessary production capacity will be available to take MINI
retail to new record levels.

Over the first nine months of the year, Rolls-Royce increased Phantom
deliveries by 2.4% to 475 automobiles (previous year: 464).

At 79,333 units sold, retail volume of the motorcycle segment remained 1.9%
below last year's level (previous year: 80,840) for the year to September.

For the period July to September, deliveries of the BMW Group decreased by 5.5%
to 323,064 units (previous year: 341,932) due to the already mentioned model
cycle effects as well as the construction measures necessary to increase
production capacities at Plant Oxford. During the reporting period, supply of
BMW X5 vehicles was limited as a result of the introduction of the successor
model on the North-American markets in November. The same was true for the new
3 Series Coupe. Similar effects also applied to the model update of the BMW X3,
for which - just like for the 3 Series Coupe - deliveries to customers started
on September 23. These models are going to be additional growth drivers in the
months to come.

A base effect became noticeable in the third quarter due to the launch of the
new 3 Series Sedan in the respective quarter of 2005, which had caused
exceptionable growth rates of over 23%.

Pre-tax return on sales in the automotive segment remains stable in the third
quarter

In the third quarter, the business development in the automotive segment was
again burdened by currency effects as well as rising raw material prices. Given
the sales decrease due to model cycles, revenues for the period July to
September declined by 5.3% to € 11,088 (previous year: 11,707) million. Profit
before taxes dropped by 5.7% to € 611 (previous year: 648) million. Despite
ongoing external burdens as well as a decrease in deliveries, the segment's
pre-tax return on sales remained stable at 5.5%.

In the first nine months of the year, profit before tax in the automotive
business improved by 6.6% to € 2,319 (previous year: 2,175) million while
revenues went up by 5.0% to € 35,262 (previous year: 33,572) million. For the
year to September, the division's pre-tax return on sales rose by 6.6%
(previous year: 6.5%).

Inconsistent market environment in the motorcycle segment

In the third quarter of the year, the development of the international
motorcycle market remained inconsistent. Deliveries declined slightly by 1.4%
to 23,230 units (previous year: 23,533) for the first nine months, resulting in
a shortfall of 1.9% compared to the same period last year. Revenues for the
motorcycle segment rose by 2.2% to € 278 (previous year: 272) million; pre-tax
profit remained stable at the previous year's level of € 4 million. As of
September 30, the segment's profit before tax increased by 1.1% to € 89
(previous year: 88) million. As previously announced, the BMW Group expects a
rise in retail volume, revenues and earnings for the motorcycle business this
year.

Financial services business continues to grow

The financial services business stayed on track for success in the third
quarter of the year. For the year to September, the business volume in
balance-sheet terms rose by 10.5% to € 42,488 million. In the first nine months
of the year, a total of 2,218,336 credit or lease contracts were in place with
dealers or retail customers, 10.3% more than one year earlier. The share of new
cars leased or financed through the financial services segment stood at 42.2%,
thus exceeding last year's level by 1.2 percentage points. Despite more
unfavorable refinancing conditions due to the development of interest rates,
the segment's profit before tax for the third quarter improved considerably
again, by 9.0% to € 182 (previous year: 167) million. In the first nine months
of the year, earnings before taxes in financial services rose by 11.9% to € 535
(previous year: 478) million.