Strategic realignment of the BMW Group announcedAt the end of September 2007, the BMW Group embarked on a new strategic direction. By 2020, the BMW Group intends to strengthen its position in the global premium automobile market by increasing sales volume to over two million units per year. The mission is clearly defined: The BMW Group is the world's leading provider of premium products and services for individual mobility. This means that in addition to pursuing organic growth of the core business, the BMW Group will also engage in new and profitable business areas throughout the automotive life cycle and along the entire value-added chain. At the same time, the BMW Group will invest substantially in future technologies, new vehicle concepts and cutting-edge drive systems. The new strategy, which has been given the name Number ONE, aims for profitability and long-term value enhancement. To achieve these goals, two new areas of responsibility have been created within the Board of Directors for the divisions "Corporate and Brand Development" and "Procurement and Supplier Network". BMW Group remains best-selling premium manufacturer The BMW Group achieved new sales volume records in 2007 for all three brands. In total, 1,500,678 cars of the BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands were sold in 2007, an increase of 9.2% compared to the previous year. The number of BMW brand cars sold increased by 7.7 percent to 1,276,793 units. MINI achieved a particularly encouraging increase. This brand recorded growth of 18.5%, with 222,875 units delivered to customers. The Rolls-Royce brand also recorded strong volume growth in 2007 (+25.5%). With 1,010 units sold, it managed to surpass the 1,000 mark for the first time. In 2007 the BMW Group was distributed in practically all markets. Particularly high growth rates were achieved in the emerging markets of South America and Asia, particularly China. In North America, retail sales increased 7.9% to 363,966 units. In total, 336,225 vehicles were sold in the USA, the BMW Group's largest single market, 7.1 percent more than in the previous year. In Europe, the number of cars sold in 2007 increased by 10.0% to 898,339 units. While the German market as a whole contracted by 9 percent, the number of cars delivered by the BMW Group fell by just 1.5 percent to 280,938 units. The BMW Group sold 173,818 units in the UK, up 12.8% on the previous year. In Italy the 100,000 threshold was exceeded for the first time. Sales volume increased by 10.9 percent to 106,992 units