KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): BMW Malaysia Sdn Bhd (BMW Group Malaysia) sold a record 10,906 units of BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad vehicles in the country last year, up 16% from 9,368 units in 2015.

This marks the sixth consecutive year the premium car maker has set a new sales record.

In a statement today, BMW Group Malaysia said the record breaking achievement is in tandem with that of the BMW Group, which achieved its best ever sales in 2016 with 2.37 million vehicles sold worldwide.

"The BMW brand grew to a record 20% in 2016, delivering 9,000 BMW vehicles from 7,515 vehicles in 2015. The MINI brand also recorded a 19% growth, delivering 902 MINI vehicles from 756 in the previous year while BMW Motorrad delivered 1,004 motorcycles in 2016," it added.

BMW Group Malaysia managing director and chief executive officer Han Sang Yun attributed its record achievement in 2016 to the continued and growing support from its customers and network of dealerships here.

"The steady performance growth in 2016 was also spurred by the introduction of a breath of new product portfolios for the BMW brand including the new locally assembled variants of the BMW X1 and BMW X4, the new BMW M2 Coupé and a new special variant of the BMW 5 Series, the BMW 528i M Performance Edition which continued to drive their respective segments," he said.

Going forward, Han said demand for plug-in hybrids continues to soar and BMW Group Malaysia is gearing up to produce more units this year to meet the large demand and take-up rate.

"In 2017, BMW Group Malaysia will look to drive innovative technology as well as its premium services offering for the automotive industry that will not only augment comfort, convenience and luxury but also promise to amplify sheer driving pleasure and the BMW premium promise.

"The move will be in preparation for its export hub initiatives for the BMW 3 Series, BMW 5 Series and BMW 7 Series to Vietnam and the Philippines in 2018 where the premium automaker will also see an increase in its expertise in its local assembly capabilities from over 7,000 vehicles in 2016 to over 10,000 vehicles in 2017 with an investment of over RM10 million," he said.

The company will also open its doors to its newest regional parts distribution centre facilities at Senai International Airport, Johor. Occupying over 45,000 square metres of land and with an investment of over RM130 million, the new regional facility will be one of the largest BMW facilities in the region.

"We will continue the momentum we have built here over the previous years where we will focus on introducing to our customers the newest products, innovations, as well as premium services which will be industry leading to drive the industry," said Han.