Say again, BMW?

January sales in the US just dropped dramatically for BMW. BMW says it has to do with inventory and a sales surge in December and that they expect sales for this year to grow slightly. One has to be skeptical about that even though those factors they mentioned may have had an impact. The US is experiencing a credit crunch right now and how many people do you know buy a BMW and pay the full amount in cash?

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Toyota's sales are also down slightly in the US for the fourth quarter which they blamed on the subprime crisis. Meaning, US consumers simply can no longer borrow to spend at anywhere near the rates they've been doing so over the last several years. Spells recession? Maybe, maybe not, but it sure sounds like it.

I think all automakers, but especially the German brands, are going to have to re-assess their position in the US market. And just when VW has chosen to make its long-overdue push in the US, this crisis hits. Hey, the world waits for no one.

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BMW U.S. vehicle sales drop 22 percent in January

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- German carmaker BMW said group vehicle sales fell 22 percent to 16,935 in the United States in January but said it expected retail sales there to rise slightly in 2008 compared to last year. "Sales were impacted by lower than normal inventory levels due to a very strong retail performance in December and high demand for all-wheel drive models," BMW of North America said in a statement on Monday.

BMW brand sales were down 26.7 percent to 14,475 vehicles, compared to 19,761 vehicles sold during January 2007, BMW said.

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