Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to this BMW Group press conference here in Detroit. We have just completed a very successful business year 2002.

Early last year we were confident enough to forecast that sales of BMW and MINI brand vehicles would break the one-million-unit barrier in 2002, despite a difficult environment for the global economy at that time.

We made this forecast a reality. The BMW Group continued its dynamic growth in the year 2002 and achieved a new record year with both its automobiles and motorcycles.

We have delivered 1.057 million BMW and MINI brand automobiles to our customers throughout the world. That is about 17 percent more than in the previous year.

BMW motorcycles also set a new record in 2002 with over 92,000 motorcycles sold throughout the world, an increase of 9 percent on the previous year's sales figures, the tenth consecutive annual record. This has to be seen in view of the fact that key motorcycle markets are experiencing a slump.

When industry figures are compared, it becomes apparent that the worldwide retail performance for BMW Group automobiles developed better than the overall market and also better than the premium segment as a whole.

Last year, over 900,000 vehicles were sold of the BMW brand alone. With 913,000 units this was about 4 percent more than in the previous year.

The key milestones for us in the last business year were the world introduction of the 7 Series in all international markets and the launch of the BMW Z4 roadster here in the US.

As far as the 7 Series is concerned, we sold over 60 percent more vehicles than in the previous year. This also puts the new 7 Series above the level of its predecessor model in the year after the new model's introduction.

In addition, we have seen the worldwide market introduction of the MINI brand. Taking the year 2002 as a whole, we have sold 144,000 MINIs, far exceeding our expectations.

MINI is already sold in about 60 different markets around the world. This is unique for an automobile in this vehicle class. The MINI has not only enabled us to establish ourselves in the premium small car segment, but has also created the first global small car.

It is estimated that during the first nine months of 2002 over 800,000 automobiles - that is around 700,000 BMWs and over 100,000 MINIs - are expected to have been sold, an increase in sales of about 19 per cent. In the motorcycle segment worldwide sales are expected to have risen to 83,000 units, an increase of around seven per cent as compared to last year. We will inform you of the exact sales figures shortly.

As a result of this encouraging sales situation we are now able to confirm our previous forecasts for the whole year. This means that 2002 will be another good year for the BMW Group.

Should the economic climate remain as it is, we will sell more than one million vehicles of the BMW and MINI brands. This means that turnover and earnings will exceed the record high achieved in 2001.

Due to the enormous success in over 50 markets worldwide now we anticipate that we will increase the sales volume of 120,000 for the MINI brand during the current year by approximately a further ten per cent.

The North American market was particularly significant in its contribution to our excellent sales results. We were more successful with our automobiles and motorcycles in this market in the year 2002 than ever before.

Tom Purves will explain the development of our business operations in North America in more detail in just a moment.

Built on the dynamic growth of our sales in the international markets, the BMW Group will also exceed the record figures of the previous year in terms of the sales and profits recorded for 2002.

Ladies and gentlemen,

A perceptible and sustainable stimulation of the world economy is difficult to foresee in view of the tense international political climate and the developments of the capital markets. All in all the world economy could accelerate in the second half of 2003 at the earliest.

In the US, we are anticipating a modest upturn, which should accelerate in the course of the year. We expect Europe to develop similarly to the US, although the growth dynamics are not likely to be as strong there.

The prospects for Asia, not including Japan, are generally favorable. However, it is still uncertain as to whether the slow recovery of the western industrial nations will influence the dynamics of the upswing in Asia. In Japan, structural problems in the finance sector will stand in the way of a lasting upturn in the economy in the medium term.

In terms of our sector, the same will once again be true of 2003: no development will apply equally to all segments. We anticipate that the premium segments will develop better than the mass segments in 2003. This is a positive starting position for the BMW Group in order to continue its dynamic development in the year 2003.

This is because we are the only multi-brand manufacturer in the industry that focuses with its brands solely on the premium segments of worldwide automobile markets. We are therefore well positioned in respect to future market requirements. It is our strategy to grow in the established markets and with the established model series, and in addition to expand into new markets and with new models. This applies to our motorcycles, too.

In this context, the year 2003 will be one of the most important product years for our company ever.

At the very beginning, the Rolls-Royce brand with a completely new sedan extends the product portfolio of the BMW Group in the absolute top segment. This means that our premium automobile product portfolio now ranges from small vehicles to the absolute luxury class.

The new Rolls-Royce Phantom is also the start of the largest scale product initiative ever undertaken by the BMW Group within a single year.

With the BMW brand we will be introducing the new 5 Series sedan, as well as presenting two completely new series, the BMW X3 and the BMW 6 Series, which will expand our line-up. There will also be two revised BMW 3 Series models. The brand MINI will see the introduction of a diesel version in Europe.

In the years that follow, other new products as part of our expansion will include among others the new 5 Series Touring, the BMW 6 Series Convertible and the new BMW 1 Series.

With our significantly expanded product range, we aim to increase sales by no less than 40 percent to 1.4 million vehicles by 2008 - our long-term planning horizon. We will thus lift the BMW Group to an entirely new level.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would now like to call on Tom Purves to provide the latest news from BMW of North America. Tom, the floor is yours!