BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, more commonly known as BMW, is a premiere German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1917. The company is headquartered in Munich. In addition to vehicles produced under its own brand, the company also owns and produces the MINI – a British automotive marquee – and is the parent company for Rolls Royce Motor Cars. The automotive powerhouse also produces motorcycles, both under the BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands. In 2010, the BMW Group produced 1,481,253 and 112,271 motorcycles across all its brands. In 2011, the company's brand value was $22,425 million. IBTimes

Registrations of new passenger cars in Europe decreased by 7.1 percent amounting to 1,069,268 units, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said Wednesday.

In November, all major markets contracted, from -6.2 percent in Germany to -10.8 percent in France, -11.5 percent in the U.K., -21 percent in Italy and -26 percent in Spain, the ACEA said.

From January to November, a total of 12,349,743 new cars were registered, down 5.7 percent compared to the sales in the same period last year. All major markets, including Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain contracted, it added.

However, according to the industry association ACEA, Ireland noted the largest expansion of 54 percent. Estimated figures reveal that 1,532 were registered in November. So far in 2010, 87,988 units were registered, according to estimates by the ACEA.

Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest auto maker by sales, posted a 5.2 percent fall to 235,614 new car registrations in November.

Italian car maker Fiat SpA suffered a 24 percent slump in new-car registrations in Europe last month to 74,194 vehicles, due mainly to an anemic domestic market.

PSA Peugeot-Citroen saw European registrations shrink by 9.5% year-on-year to 144,542 cars in November, while French peer Renault SA posted a 12 percent decline to 115,487 cars.

General Motors Co.'s European division gained market share in November as registrations rose 4.2 percent to 98,319 vehicles and U.S. auto maker Ford Motor Co faced a 15 percent decrease to 85,856 new-car registrations.

German luxury-car maker BMW AG posted a 19 percent rise last month to 66,050 cars, fueled by soaring sales at its core brand.

General motors European union Volkswagen Germany