BMW Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle Business Tracking to Record Year

Dealers embrace certified used cars and Sports Activity Vehicles as additional source of revenue. Broadened customer base to support new car sales when market turns.

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., March 9, 2009: The demand for BMW's certified used vehicles in the U.S. has jumped off to an excellent 2009 start. In the first two months of 2009, BMW Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) sales are up by 24 percent to 19,000 units and the company is on track to beat last year's record number of 104,000 units continuing to lead the premium segment of the market.

In the current economic climate, BMW Certified Pre-Owned vehicles have become a significant source of revenue for BMW dealers, not only balancing new car sales but also generating additional aftersales and warranty business.

"Our CPO vehicle program has helped to broaden BMW's customer base in the U.S. considerably," says Peter Miles, Executive Vice-President of BMW of North America, LLC. "It is an important tool attracting a new generation of BMW buyers and we expect many to move up to new vehicles when the market improves, and this is another benefit in addition to helping our dealers to weather the current economic situation."

When adding the sales of new BMWs to those of certified used BMWs in 2008, dealers sold more than 350,000 vehicles to retail customers with every fourth BMW being Certified Pre-Owned. In 2009, the BMW sales program is designed to further increase the share of the CPO sales volume at BMW centers.

Every Certified Pre-Owned BMW comes with a protection plan that is designed to exceed customer expectations, since only the best pre-owned BMW vehicles -- recent models with less than 60,000 miles or less than 60 months old -- are selected for certification. In addition, BMW provides warranty coverage for every Certified Pre-Owned vehicle for a total of 6 years/100,000 miles (whichever comes first) from the vehicle's original in-service date.