BMW is introducing a new dealer bonus scheme to ensure it protects its residual values in the UK as new product arrives.

The runaway success of the Mini, the ongoing sales achievements of the 3-series, along with the new 7-series, a new Z3 slated for next year, a new 5-series in 2003, and the 1-series, 6-series and X3 scheduled for 2004 mean increasing volumes of used BMWs are going to hit the used car market.

The company expects its new car sales to increase by 25% over the next four years, and is conscious of the need to ensure the return of these cars to the secondhand market does not upset the balance of supply and demand and undermine the marque's famed residual values.

As a result, BMW will offer higher incentives to its dealers to sell used cars than new ones, in line with a concerted effort to increase the volumes of cars sold through the BMW Approved scheme.

Jim O'Donnell, managing director of BMW GB, said: "Next year our dealers will be bonused more on their used car sales than new car sales. We will sell about 44,000 cars through BMW Approved this year, and we plan to increase that to 60,000 cars." (September 25, 2001)