Americans helped BMW sell more cars than in any other country, but the very weak dollar made those sales much less profitible than they could ahve been. The USD is being pounded in the world markets over the course of the last year and it showed in the bottom lines for the BMW sales.
Anyone making their sales in the U.S. from the International side has probably cleared their wine racks in the last year as the profits are being pounded by the weak dollar.
There was a surprise in last year's results, though. Audi's profit margin topped BMW's.
BMW's comparatively bad showing demonstrates just how right CEO Norbert Reithofer has been in pursuing drastic cost reductions. In the United States, BMW has become a victim of its own success. The weak dollar most hurts the import company selling the most in the United States.
According to Automotive News, in some ways, Audi should be grateful to Ralph Weyler, its departed sales and marketing chief for neglecting the American market.
Weyler's inattention helped put Audi far behind Mercedes and BMW in U.S. sales. But as an unintended positive result, the dollar's weakness today is barely affecting the company. It makes one wonder if the folks at Audi might be secretly hoping for Americans to buy a record number of BMWs again this year, too.
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