BMW Settles SEC Charges Over Sales Disclosures for $18 Million
September 24 2020 - 7:33PM
Dow Jones News
By Kimberly Chin
German luxury car maker Bayerische Motoren Werke AG has agreed
to pay $18 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission to
settle claims that BMW and two of its U.S. units had disclosed
misleading sales figures.
The regulator found that the Munich-based auto maker had
provided inaccurate information regarding its U.S. retail sales
while raising roughly $18 billion from bond investors. Between 2015
and 2019, BMW had boosted sales figures by having dealers register
cars as sold when the vehicles were still on the lots, the SEC
said. The practice is known in the U.S. as sales punching.
"Through its repeated disclosure failures, BMW misled investors
about its U.S. retail sales performance and customer demand for BMW
vehicles in the U.S. market while raising capital in the U.S.,"
said SEC Enforcement Division Director Stephanie Avakian.
The auto maker resolved the charges without admitting or denying
the claims.
"The BMW Group attaches great importance to the correctness of
its sales figures and will continue to focus on thorough and
consistent sales reporting," a BMW spokesman said in an emailed
statement.
BMW and its subsidiaries will pay the joint penalty and "cease
and desist from future violations," the SEC said. BMW's significant
cooperation in the investigation resulted in a lower fine, the
agency said.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV in September 2019 agreed to pay $40
million to settle claims by the SEC that the company had for years
paid dealers to report exaggerated sales figures. Fiat Chrysler
said at the time it had reviewed and refined its sales reporting
procedures and was committed to maintaining stronger controls.
Write to Kimberly Chin at kimberly.chin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 24, 2020 19:18 ET (23:18 GMT)
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