Global Success: The BMW 3 Series is named "World Car of the Year".

Munich/New York. The BMW 3 Series has been selected as "World Car of the Year".
The fifth generation of the most successful model in its category made an
impressive showing by beating back 26 rivals in the competition for the most
significant worldwide automobile award. The "World Car of the Year Award" is
given out by a jury consisting of 46 industry journalists who evaluate the
year's most important model innovations on the basis of 20 criteria, including
design, vehicle performance, handling, comfort and functionality. This year's
awards were presented at the New York International Auto Show.

For the 2006 "World Car of the Year Award", no other manufacturer managed to
make such a lasting impression on the professional jury as BMW. In addition to
its victory in the overall ranking, the BMW 3 Series also was singled out as
one of the three strongest competitors in the specialty category, "World Car
Design of the Year". Both these awards and its strong commercial success
demonstrate that the BMW 3 Series is still setting the bar for design and
driving pleasure, even in its fifth generation. Moreover, the BMW M5 placed
among the top-three-ranking vehicles in the 2006 "World Performance Car"
category.

Our excellent performance in the 2006 "World Car of the Year Award" is striking
proof of how well the BMW brand is succeeding at spreading the fascination and
enjoyment of driving its vehicles on every continent. The qualities that
characterize BMW-brand vehicles are highly prized by automobile experts and
customers all over the world. The commercial success of the BMW 3 Series
worldwide demonstrates, above all, that a model offering dynamic driving,
efficiency, comfort and outstanding innovation possesses just the right
features to be a leading global competitor.

Following the model changes in spring of 2005, around 230,000 units of the new
BMW 3 Series Sedan alone were sold worldwide by the end of the year. The BMW 3
Series Touring Car that debuted in the fall of 2005 was also a commercial
success from the very start. During the first quarter of 2006, 122,691 units of
the BMW 3 Series were sold worldwide - an increase of 54.2 percent over the
previous year.

At the "World Performance Car" competition in New York, the BMW M5 managed to
grab one of the top three rankings. The jury was impressed by the unique
character of this high-performance sedan. Its high-performance, ten-cylinder
engine, with a capacity of 373 kW/507 HP, provides a level of performance that
previously was available only in true super sports cars. The BMW M5 combines
this outstanding potential with the comfort and unlimited functionality of a
business sedan, thereby providing the opportunity to experience unparalleled
driving enjoyment even in everyday traffic.