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MINI TAKES THE STATES
2012 Confirmed To Kick Off July 4, 2012
Woodcliff Lake, NJ – January 27, 2012

The biggest official MINI road rally is scheduled to take place again this summer. The bi-annual MINI Takes the States (MTTS) rally will kick off on the east coast Wednesday, July 4th and will make the cross-country trek to the Pacific Ocean concluding on Sunday, July 15th.

"MTTS is perhaps the brand's greatest demonstration of our commitment to the MINI community," said Jim McDowell, Vice President MINI USA. "During MTTS, MINI USA acts on its promise to deliver a motoring experience unlike any other brand, engaging owners and their families and ensuring they enjoy their MINI to the fullest extent possible."

As MINI celebrates its 10-year anniversary this year in the US, thousands of MINI owners and enthusiasts will join the cross-country rally, or a leg of it, dotting the horizon with a gleaming caravan of MINIs. Along the way, MINI USA will provide its loyal owners and enthusiasts with genuine, once-in-a-lifetime motoring experiences. The 2010 event included a run on the Bonneville Salt Flats and laps on the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in addition to other engaging daily activities. MTTS 2012 route details and adventures are still being finalized; full details will be provided in the coming weeks.

During the event, media will have the opportunity for:

• Sneak peeks and early test drives of all-new MINI vehicles and technologies
• Interviews with MINI executives and owners for unique feature stories
• Autocross experiences demonstrating MINI's performance and handling
• Immersion in the festive, cheeky MINI culture and the lifestyle the brand offers
• Interaction with the charity partner chosen to receive net proceeds from the registration fee

Participant registration begins in April, but owners and enthusiasts can sign up now to receive updates at www.miniusa.com/mtts Media with questions about the event or interested in participating should contact the MINI USA Communications Team directly.

BMW Group expands U.S. plant in South Carolina
12.01.2012

Spartanburg/Munich. The BMW Group is expanding capacity at its U.S. plant in Spartanburg. "We plan to invest over the next three years nearly USD 900 million in the Spartanburg plant by 2014. This will create 300 new jobs by the end of this year. This will allow us to produce 350,000 units in Spartanburg in the mid term," says Frank-Peter Arndt, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Production, in Spartanburg on Thursday. The BMW Group already invested USD 750 million in the expansion of the plant for production of the new BMW X3 between 2008 and 2010.

"This is in response to rising global demand for our BMW X models and the expansion of the BMW X family to include the BMW X4," Arndt explains at a ceremony to celebrate production of the two-millionth vehicle at the BMW plant in South Carolina since 1994. The move will bring the BMW Group's total investment in South Carolina to nearly USD six billion.

The Governor of the State of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, speaks at the ceremony, saying: "BMW has once again provided tremendous evidence that South Carolina is a blueprint for significant economic development success. The partnership between this company and our State is an enduring example of how to attract, retain and grow business to stimulate perpetual job creation."

Production in Spartanburg reached new high in 2011
Last year, the BMW plant in Spartanburg produced 276,065 vehicles for more than 130 markets around the world, representing an increase of 73% over the previous year. The BMW X3 also played a major role in this positive development. Global sales of this highly-successful model rose 156% in 2011 to reach a total of 117,944 vehicles.

More than 70% of the vehicles produced in Spartanburg (192,813) were exported, making the BMW Group the largest automotive exporter to the non-NAFTA countries.

Four expansions already at U.S. plant
Since it opened in 1994, the BMW plant in Spartanburg has already undergone four expansions and produced six different BMW models (318i, Z3, Z4, X5, X6, X3) and their variants. Employment has grown from 500 initially to more than 7,000 today.

Clean production
BMW's Spartanburg plant is state-of-the-art in terms of environmental protection. Advanced production processes have made vehicle production even more environmentally-compatible: Over the past five years, it was possible to lower energy consumption by 48%, halve water consumption, reduce CO2 emissions by 44% and waste by 65% by car. In 2010, for example, the Spartanburg plant generated almost 62 million kilowatt hours of electricity from a methane gas energy centre located on the grounds of the facility and supplied by a local landfill. This accounts for over 37% of the entire plant's total electrical demand.

USA largest market for BMW Group in 2011
The BMW Group is the leading manufacturer of premium automobiles in the U.S., the world's largest market for premium automobiles. Last year, the BMW Group increased sales of its BMW and MINI brand vehicles in the U.S. by almost 15% to reach a total of 305,418 vehicles. The American market was therefore the largest market for the BMW Group in 2011.

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Full Details

2013 BMW X6 Sports Activity Coupe
Woodcliff Lake, NJ – January 25, 2012

BMW today revealed the first images and information about the newly updated 2013 BMW X6 Sports Activity Coupe which arrives in U.S. this spring. Full Details

BMW Delivers First All-Electric ActiveE in the US
Woodcliff Lake, NJ – January 13, 2012

BMW today delivered the first all-electric ActiveE in the US and began the next chapter in its electromobility strategy. Ludwig Willisch, President and CEO of BMW of North America presented the keys to a BMW ActiveE to Tom and Meredith Moloughney who will begin their two-year lease today. As one of the inaugural MINI E pioneers in 2009, today they officially became the first ActiveE Electronauts.

"Calling the Moloughneys Pioneers is very appropriate because they have shown the world that an electric vehicle can absolutely serve one's daily driving needs without compromise," said Ludwig Willisch, President and CEO of BMW of North America. "We learned a lot from all of our experience with the MINI E and we are looking forward to learning more in these next two years with the BMW ActiveE as we prepare for the launch of the first BMW i models in 2013. We are pleased that Tom and Meredith have agreed to stay with us on this journey."

The BMW Group's electromobility development strategy began with the MINI E Field Trial in the summer of 2009. When the MINI E trial program began, one of the main open questions was, could a private individual live with an electric vehicle on a daily basis without changing their driving habits? The MINI E pioneers proved without a doubt that not only could it be done, but that doing so required no change in their daily routine, with the exception of plugging-in instead of stopping at the gas station. No one has proven the viability of an EV as daily transportation more conclusively than the Moloughneys, who logged over 72,500 miles in MINI E # 250 in just two-and-a-half years. That is as much driving as the typical American driver does in five years and they did it without burning so much as an ounce of gasoline.

The Moloughneys today became the first of what will be 700 BMW Electronaut households who will lease a BMW ActiveE for a two year period. Deliveries will continue over the next several weeks. As the MINI E provided valuable insight into life with an EV, the BMW ActiveE lease period will again be used to gather feedback that will be part of the development of the BMW i3 which will come to market in 2013.

The ActiveE is the only car that is 100% Electric and 100% BMW, providing the performance and efficiency everyone has come to expect from The Ultimate Driving Machine®. With output of 170 hp and maximum torque of 184 lb-ft from a standstill, The BMW ActiveE accelerates from 0–60 mph in under nine seconds. Newly developed lithium-ion batteries facilitate a driving range of up to 100 miles on a full charge.

The BMW ActiveE will be available for lease in the metropolitan markets of Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, New York, Boston and Hartford for $499 per month for 24 months with a down payment $2,250. Anyone in those markets interested in leasing one of the 700 BMW ActiveEs coming to the US should visit www.bmwusa.com/ActiveE

project i - research and development of tomorrow's mobility. The BMW ActiveE is the BMW Group's next step towards an emission-free, mass-produced electric vehicle. Within the framework of project i, the BMW Group is carrying out research and development work on the development of electrically powered vehicles. The next step will be the BMW i3 due to launch in 2013. It will be designed to meet the demands of a sustainable mobility solution for congested urban areas. For this reason, the drive components and battery technology that will be used in the BMW i3 are being tested in the BMW ActiveE.

Ongoing field tests involving more than 600 MINI E cars, including 450 in the US, have already provided vital knowledge about the demands on future electrically powered production vehicles. Beginning with year in the US, Europe and China, a test fleet of over 1100 BMW ActiveE vehicles, produced at BMW's Leipzig plant, will provide further valuable insights into the everyday use of the vehicle. The findings will serve to deepen the knowledge already gained on the everyday use of electric vehicles and to learn more about customer requirements. The feedback from customers testing the MINI E and the BMW ActiveE will be fed directly into series production of the BMW i3, which will be launched in 2013.

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