Beamer me up: Stellar BMW ‘sales’ appear wide of the marque

It pays to work at BMW during an economic downturn, with the luxury German marque launching its own ‘stimulus package’.

BMW Group Australia chief executive Vikram Pawah Picture: Robert Hamilton

It pays to work at BMW during an economic downturn, with the luxury German marque launching its own “stimulus package”.

In April, BMW registered 302 company cars across its local ­operations, helping shield its business from the worst monthly crash in new car sales in almost 30 years.

With between 201 and 500 employees in Australia, BMW has registered a company car for the majority of its local workforce, staving off the sales slump.

It reported a 5.7 per cent fall in new car sales in April, compared with the total auto market falling 48.5 per cent. It outsold the world’s biggest carmaker, Volkswagen, which fell 62.1 per cent, almost doubled its rival Mercedes-Benz and came within 550 cars of outselling Hyundai, which posted a 65.3 per cent fall in car sales.

In the global car industry, ­bonuses are often tied to sales ­volumes. While there is no direct evidence of it registering cars to seek a bonus, the industry is rife with chatter about BMW’s remarkable April sales figures.

In addition to the 302 company cars registered, BMW Australia also registered 401 demo cars, according to industry figures seen by The Australian.

VFACTS, the official car sales figures, counts all registered cars as a sale — including demos, which have never left a dealership — rather than vehicles that a ­customer has bought. This means 41.2 per cent of BMW’s new car sales were demos or company cars. If those cars are removed from its April sales figures, it reported a 44.6 per cent decline in sales, which brings it in line with the broader auto market.

BMW Group Australia chief executive Vikram Pawah stood by the sales figures, saying the number of demos and company cars registered were lower than the same time last year.

The Australian Automotive Dealer Association has called on VFACTS to separate a demo car “sale” from a genuine sale to ­ensure the data’s reliability.