| Shipwreck costs SA R500m
A container shipwreck off the English coast has cost South Africans R500m, although the 39 BMW motorbikes onboard the doomed ship were insured! South African individuals and companies have suffered losses of up to R500m after the container ship MSC Napoli ran aground off the south-west English coast at the weekend, spilling dozens of containers onto the shoreline, Beeld reports. The ship was headed for Cape Town. The Mediterranean Shipping Company’s Glen Delve said more than 80 percent of the 2,323 containers on the vessel had cargo destined for South Africa. The ship would have docked in Cape Town on January 29. BMW South Africa’s Guy Kilfoil confirmed the cargo included 39 BMW motorcycles valued at R4,5m, which had been destined for South African customers and dealers.
Brits loot 39 BMWs from MSC Napolia for South Africa
Pietermaritzburg - South African bikers who are fans of the BMW hoping to buy a new toy might have to wait a bit longer after 39 motorcycles destined for the country were scavenged from a stranded ship on the south coast of England. The bikes were part of the cargo on the contained ship MSC Napolis, 40% of whose cargo washed ashore. Scavengers removed the bikes that were washed onto the beach. Marketing manager for BMW Lifestyle South Africa, Rob Barnes, said that the overall worth of the bikes was close to R4million. The prices of individual motorcycles ranged from R85 000 to R140 000 for the popular K1200GT model. Other models aboard were the R1200RT and the S800ST. The bikes were part of a stock en route to BMW Motorrad South Africa, the motorcycle division of the dealership, when the ship encountered problems.
BMW BIKES `SALVAGED' IN DEVON
According to a statement released by BMW, some 39 motorcycles were on board the container ship MV Napoli, which was beached near Devon, after getting into difficulties in the English Channel.
The cargo ship was bound for South Africa, with BMW bikes and cars - plus spares on board. It is believed that most of the BMW bikes have been taken away by people scavenging Branscombe beach, Devon, in the last few days.
BBC reports indicate that the UK Police, in conjunction with the cargo insurers, will be making efforts to track down those who took the bikes, and seeking to prosecute anyone who failed to report their `salvage' haul to the Receiver of Wrecks, within 28 days.
Some items from the wreck have already appeared on e-bay and within a few weeks optimists will be trying to sell the BMW bikes somehow.
BMW Group FY06 Revenues Rise 5%; Expects To Sell About 1.4 Mln Cars In FY07 - Update
(RTTNews) - Friday, BMW Group reported that its revenues for the full-year 2006 rose 5% from the prior year. The company said that its earnings target for the full-year 2006 would remain unchanged. The company's group revenues for the full-year 2006 rose to EUR 48.99 billion from $46.67 billion a year ago. For the year, BMW's automobiles segment generated revenues increased 4.2% to EUR 47.67 billion from EUR 45.86 billion in the previous year. Revenue from its motorcycles segment reached EUR 1.27 billion, compared to EUR 1.22 billion last year. The company's revenues from financial services grew 17.8% to EUR 11.08 billion from EUR 9.41 billion a year earlier. The company said that the total number of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles delivered during the year rose 3.5% to 1,373,970 units from 1,327,992 units last year.
BMW challenges Honda title claim
BMW Motorrad is celebrating yet another sales record, albeit an unofficial one. Combined UK sales of its R 1200 GS and R 1200 GS Adventure models totalled 2,277 units in 2006. This is a figure that comfortably beats that achieved by Honda's CBR1000RR, which at 2,067 units was officially the best selling motorcycle of last year, according to figures released by the Motorcycle Industry Assoc-iation. Until fairly recently, BMW's GS' range of motorcycles was considered as a rather niche proposition, used mainly by globetrotters and desert racers. .
BMW named 'Energy Partner of the Year' by EPA
LLC, and partner Durr Systems, Inc., as joint recipients of the Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) "Energy Partner of the Year" award. The award was presented at today's 10th Annual LMOP Conference and Project Expo in Baltimore.
The prestigious award was given to BMW Manufacturing and Durr in recognition of their achievements in implementing one of the most ambitious Landfill Gas to Energy Projects in North America -- recycling landfill methane gas from the Palmetto Landfill to provide energy to BMW's paint shop. Durr built the paint shop.
By utilizing the previously unused energy from landfill gas, BMW was able to reduce area emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, by approximately 60,000 tons and recover enough energy to heat 15,000 homes per year.
New 335i Coupé - the Crown in BMW's treasury
It is an unfortunate coincidence - at least as far as motor manufacturers of the world are concerned - that the route I take to deliver my eldest son to school happens to go past the Japanese embassy. Every day as I pass I stop for a moment and stand in gogglement at the miraculous, bottomless black-paint finish on the Japanese ambassador's Toyota Century limousine. This is a paint job unlike any other I have seen: a glassy, glossy, frictionless, polished onyx .
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