BMW Group vehicle sales this September were up a miniscule 1.6% when compared to September, 2004. Also, YTD sales for the first three-fourths of 2005 were up a mere 4.0%.

Sales of the X Series were down 4.0% when compared to last September while car sales were up 3.7% as the 5 and 6 Series had a decent month.

Sales of the BMW brand were up only 1.3% when compared to last September.

Total MB sales of only 17,552 units this month represent a mere 0.6% increase over last September when 17,445 units were sold. 2005 YTD sales for MB are down 0.8%. MB sales would have been much lower save for introduction of the 2006 M Class in April and YTD sales of the SLK. Sales of the M Class were up 21.3% when compared to September, 2004 while YTD sales of the SLK were up 153.3%.

Please note that I report only United States sales data.

SUV and SAV sales are starting to drag down total sales for many Mfrs. Ford and GM took big hits (~ - 20%) in Sept and trucks were down even more. Gas prices and the likelyhood that no quick return to cheaper gas are hurting these sales, at least in the US.