China overtakes USA as BMW Group’s biggest market

China is a goldmine for almost every luxury brand out there, from Louis Vuitton to Ferrari. Now, the world’s largest auto market has overtaken the United States as the BMW Group’s largest market, according to figures released by the Munich-based company.

In the first quarter of this year, the BMW Group, which produces BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles, sold 80,014 vehicles in China, an increase of 37% from the same period last year. By contrast, the group sold 75,729 units during the same period in America, up 17% year-on-year. BMW’s domestic market is third, up 2% to 66,222 units.

Expect to see more upward movement, as BMW has just launched the long wheelbase version of its F30 3-Series for China. The Shenyang-made Three has a 110 mm longer wheelbase to cater to Chinese premium buyers, who generally prefer big cabins.

This news comes as no surprise, since China is already the largest market for BMW’s premium segment rival Audi. Mercedes-Benz, the other German heavyweight, counts the Middle Kingdom as its third largest market after USA and Germany.

Japanese premium brands such as Lexus, Infiniti and Acura are way behind the Germans in China, as they don’t produce locally and lack brand cachet. Some are trying to address the situation – for instance, Nissan’s Infiniti is looking to sell 100,000 units in China by 2016, five times the amount it managed last year.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Fri, 13 Apr 12 06:51:48 +0000.

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