Sales
A European study conducted by BMW in 1980 showed that with a share of 31 percent, the 320i was the best-selling 3 Series, followed by the 316 accounting for 27 percent, the 318 with a share of 24 percent, and the 323i with a share in sales of 18 percent. Reasons quoted for buying the car were: the car’s performance, in 77 percent of all cases; its handling, for 65 percent of the customers; and the special looks of a sporting saloon, for 64 per cent of buyers. Most E21 owners were satisfied with their purchase, as almost two-thirds of those surveyed stated that their next car would be another BMW.
Another inquiry showed that drivers of the E21 Series were particularly active motorists by European standards, with more than 60 per cent of those surveyed covering more than 17 000 km (10 500 miles) per year.
In May 1981, six years after the start of production, the millionth 3 Series came off the production line. Worldwide sales of the E21 topped 1.36 million at the end of E21 production in 1982, although the E21 version was not particularly popular in the lucrative United States market.
It was a reasonably popular car in Britain, and helped increase the popularity of "compact executive" models. By the end of its production life in 1983, the E21 was competing fiercely in a market with the likes of the Audi 80 and the new Mercedes-Benz 190E.
Read more about this topic: BMW 3 Series (E21)
Famous quotes containing the word sales:
“The damned are in the abyss of Hell, as within a woeful city, where they suffer unspeakable torments, in all their senses and members, because as they have employed all their senses and their members in sinning, so shall they suffer in each of them the punishment due to sin.”
—St. Francis De Sales (1567–1622)
“The elephant, not only the largest but the most intelligent of animals, provides us with an excellent example. It is faithful and tenderly loving to the female of its choice, mating only every third year and then for no more than five days, and so secretly as never to be seen, until, on the sixth day, it appears and goes at once to wash its whole body in the river, unwilling to return to the herd until thus purified. Such good and modest habits are an example to husband and wife.”
—St. Francis De Sales (1567–1622)
“There are no galley-slaves in the royal vessel of divine love—every man works his oar voluntarily!”
—St. Francis De Sales (1567–1622)