SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RESIDENT DRIVES 500,000TH MINI OFF ASSEMBLY LINE IN ENGLAND; RECEIVES ROYAL WELCOME IN THE STATES

Symbolizes MINI's Sensational Status in the States

Woodcliff Lake, NJ - October 7, 2004... Dan Cowdery of Westlake Village,
California, got the red carpet treatment today as he took part in a MINI
milestone: Cowdery took delivery of his new MINI - the 500,000th MINI to roll
off the assembly line in Oxford, England since production began in July 2001.

Cowdery, who purchased his customized dark silver MINI Cooper S from Long Beach
MINI, was flown to England by MINI USA for a special ceremony last month
marking the production milestone. While there, he toured the factory, met
several British dignitaries and plant executives, and took his new wheels for a
drive on the 'wrong' side of the street. Today, Cowdery drove out of the
dealership on a red carpet lined with red MINIs.

An auto enthusiast from a young age, Cowdery does "a ton of driving" as well as
road racing. He calls his customized MINI - outfitted with a body kit, brake
upgrades, and John Cooper Works kit ? a ?bad to the bone street car? that he
can take on the track, too. "The first time I drove a MINI, I was pretty
impressed, and, as it is made by the BMW Group, the decision to buy one was
practically made for me," Cowdery said.

"MINI Momentum"
Strong demand for MINI automobiles worldwide pushed up initial production
forecasts. The company originally predicted that the Oxford plant would build
100,000 MINIs a year, but the half-million mark was actually reached two years
early. Last year, more than 174,000 MINIs were sold worldwide. 111,142 MINIs
were sold in the first seven months of 2004, an increase of 4 percent.
Seventy-five percent of the half million vehicles produced were exported.

After the United Kingdom, the U.S. is the second-largest market for the MINI
brand. More than 85,000 MINIs have been sold in the U.S. since March 2002.
More than 36,000 MINIs were sold in 2003, and year-to-date in 2004, more than
25,000 MINIs have made their way to U.S. customers.

California - Land of MINI
California is a major market for MINI in its own right; more MINIs are sold in
the state than in many European countries. On average, 18 percent of all
MINIs sold in the US are sold in California.

BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975.
ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW
Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial
service organizations for the BMW brand, the MINI brand, and the ROLLS-ROYCE
brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, an industrial design firm in California; a
technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the
country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group's
global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all
Z4 Roadster and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization
is represented in the U.S. through networks of 340 BMW passenger car centers,
327 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 148 BMW motorcycle retailers, 76 MINI
passenger car dealers, and 25 ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding
Corp., the BMW Group's sales headquarters for North, Central and South America,
is

located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet
at:

www.bmwusa.com
www.bmwmotorradusa.com
www.miniusa.com
www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com

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Journalist note: Information about the BMW Group and its products is available
to journalists on-line at the BMW Group PressClub at the following address:
www.press.bmwgroup.com.

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