SMM: it is reported that on Sept. 24, BMW Group and its two US subsidiaries agreed to pay a fine of $18 million in the United States to resolve US allegations that the company published misleading information about its US retail volume when it raised about $18 billion from investors by issuing bonds.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (SEC) said BMW overstated its retail sales in the US between 2015 and 2019, narrowing the gap between actual sales and internal targets to maintain BMW's leading position relative to other high-end car brands.
SEC also said that BMW North America "retained an unreported reserve of retail sales of vehicles (referred to internally as the 'bank') to meet internal monthly sales targets, regardless of the timing of basic sales". BMW said the investigation launched by SEC began in 2019.
BMW said in a statement: "there are no charges or rulings against BMW for intentional misconduct. BMW attaches great importance to the accuracy of sales figures and will continue to focus on providing comprehensive and consistent sales reports. "
SEC said BMW "pays dealers to designate vehicles as test drives or mortgages so that BMW can count vehicles as sold, but these vehicles are not actually sold to consumers."
Stephanie Avakian, director of law enforcement at SEC, said: "during the fund-raising period in the US, BMW misled investors about its US retail performance and customer demand for BMW cars."
In September 2019, FCA was also investigated by SEC for misleading investors with its monthly sales data, and FCA and its US division agreed to pay $40 million to resolve the matter.
