BMW to reduce discounts in Germany, report says

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- BMW will cut back on sales discounts in Germany and focus on maintaining profit margins rather than market share, CEO Norbert Reithofer told German weekly magazine WirtschaftsWoche.

"We have decided that this year in Germany we will not defend market share at any price, and that profitability must come first," Reithofer told the magazine.

The volume of discounts will therefore be pared back substantially. "We're not just talking 5,000 cars," Reithofer told the magazine.

Auto manufacturers in Germany often give large dealerships cash bonuses to "self register" a purchase by the dealership, rather than a real customer, as a way to help monthly sales figures.

Based on currently available statistics, BMW still holds the crown of being the world's biggest maker of premium cars, ahead of rivals Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

Separately, Reithofer said the premium auto maker needs to sell a "five-digit number" of electric vehicles starting in 2020 in order to comply with European Union emission rules to cut BMW's average carbon dioxide emission level to 101 grams per kilometer per vehicle.