BMW Middle East copes with economic potholes

Dubai: Despite the global liquidity crunch, high fuel prices and low consumer confidence, gas-guzzling automobiles continue to perform well in the Middle East.

BMW, the European car manufacturer, witnessed 12 per cent growth in sales in the first ten months of this year, a top company official said.

"We are still showing growth, and predicting similar growth again for next year because the economic fundamentals here are stronger than many other parts of the world," said Phil Horton, managing director for the Middle East region of BMW.

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The luxury car maker reported selling 13,326 units year to date. The company expects to close the year at about 16,500 automobiles under the BMW brand as well as 750 units of Mini, Horton said. The company's market share overall is in line with its worldwide share, at about 3 per cent of the market, Horton said. "If you look at within the premium brands - Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, etc. - our share is about 20 per cent," he added.

As for the global outlook, in terms of revenues and profits, the "Middle East is one of the star performers for the BMW Group, this year," Horton said.

Reports said that the 7 Series, the X5 and the X6, are the highest selling models. In the wake of their regional performance, the company launched the first new model of the fifth generation 7 Series.

"This will probably be our number one product next year, because the Gulf in particular is very orientated towards the higher end models, especially for the premium manufacturers," Horton said, adding that he expects sales of over 4,000 units of the new model.

The new 7 Series will offer two engine variants for the Middle East market - the in-line six cylinder 740iL and V8 750iL, both with twin-turbo technology and direct fuel injection.

At 407bhp and acceleration to 100 km/h in 5.2 seconds, the series comes with iDrive control system, features a 10.2-inch display, enabling easy control of the car's entertainment, information, navigation and telecommunication functions, as well as iBrake, a function that pre-tensions the braking system if the system detects a possible collision.

Additionally, the car features warning systems such as lane change and lane departure warnings, and night vision display for pedestrian detection.