The BMW Group is planning a major increase in sales and turnover volume in the next six years. Based on the retail situation of the current year, the company aims for an increase of around a third in terms of sales. This will take the company's turnover to around DM 100 billion, or £30.5 billion.

During this time, the BMW Group will spend around £6.1 billion on the development of new products. It is planning a total of 20 new models and three new engine series.

BMW is basing its strategy on forecasts that premium segments are set to grow in the next decade by 50%, with mass segments increasing by 25%.

To implement the goals that it has just announced, the BMW Group has started a product offensive. The first evidence of this are the Mini brand and the new BMW 7 Series. On 8 September 2001, the Mini will be launched in Germany.

Next week, the new BMW 7 Series will be premiered at the IAA International Motor Show in Frankfurt.

The BMW X family is to be further expanded, a new BMW 6 Series and 1 Series introduced and in 2003 a new Rolls Royce launched.

For the further increase of the distribution network and the extension of the required production capacity, the BMW Group will investing totalling around £5 billion over the next six years: this will include the new BMW plant in Leipzig/Halle, the new Rolls-Royce site in Goodwood, England, and extensive investments in existing locations.

"We will continue to finance our growth solidly from cashflow," Professor Joachim Milberg, chairman of the board of Management of BMW, said. "In spite of the high level of expenditure on our product and market offensive, we will clearly improve our profit-sales ratio to over 6% in 2001."

In the next few years, the company would be aiming to increase the profit-sales ratio even further.