COMMUNITY
Tuesday, January 13, 20158 Tuesday, January 13, 2015 9
COMMUNITY
MDPropertiesbagscovetedtitle
Q
atar-based MD Properties has won
‘Best Real Estate Agency in Qatar’
at the 2014-15 Arabian Property
Awards in Dubai,held last month
at the Madinat Jumeirah Hotel and
thus qualified in the Regional Awards
representing Qatar,against the winners from the
other participating countries in the region.
Arabian Property Awards is part of the long-
established International Property Awards that are
globally recognised as a mark of excellence in the
sector.
MD Properties competed against Qatar’s premier
real-estate agencies and property consultants to
achieve this recognition.All participants were
assessed on very stringent standards as set by the
judging panel including company background
and services,business records and achievements,
marketing strategies and innovation,client
engagement and satisfaction.
The Arabian Property Awards are part of the
International Property Awards which are split
into regions covering North America,Central &
South America,Europe,Africa,Asia Pacific and
Arabia.The awards’judging panel consists of over
70 highly respected experts in the industry,from
all over the world and is chaired by three active
members of the House of Lords of the United
Kingdom.
The event was organised in association with
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and Ernst & Young.
The winners’logo is recognised as a symbol
of excellence throughout the global industry.
Attaining one is indisputable evidence that
the holder is capable of outperforming strong
contenders within the highly competitive Arabian
property market.
Martin Laurent,acting CEO of MD Properties
Qatar,said:“This award is the result of the strategy
we adopted since establishment,aiming to operate
at the highest standards of professional practice,
serving our clients in the best possible way and
working hard to achieve this over the past four
years.
“Our target for next year is to win against other
regional and international qualifiers,representing
Qatar as a qualified ambassador for its thriving real
estate market and the sector’s level of professional
advancement.”
MD Properties was established in Qatar in 2010,
specialising in property and asset management,
brokerage and marketing,project and corporate
management advisory and services,non-technical
facilities management,and related services.
ACCOLADE: MD Properties competed against Qatar’s premier real-estate agencies and
property consultants to achieve this recognition.
SPORTS MEET: The Primary Section of Birla Public School recently conducted the Annual Sports Meet. The events started off with vibrant displays from students of grade 3 to 5 of national curriculum
and a special display from students of i-curriculum. The students in their colourful costumes and beautiful props presented a gripping performance. The display was followed by a spectacular March
Past from various Houses. Prashant Udas, the Sports Captain of Primary Section hoisted the school flag followed by oath-taking ceremony. Guests, heads of various departments, teachers, parents and
students were present on this celebration.
AT THE SUMMIT: Indian Ambassador Sanjiv Arora, Doha-based entrepreneur C K Menon, President of Indian Cultural Centre Girish Kumar, President of Indian Community Benevolent Forum Aravind
Patel and other members of the Indian community who participated at the 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat, India.
I
n 2014, Audi AG clearly
exceeded its goal of 1.7mn
deliveries: By year-end, the
company handed over around
1,741,100 cars to customers,
10.5% more than in 2013. The
company once again accelerated its
growth pace and achieved around
165,600 additional customers
and the second-highest volume
increase in its history.
The coveted SUV models
(+15.8%) and the A3 family available
worldwide for the first time in 2014
(+53.2%) contributed primarily to
the strong sales total. In December,
Audi continued to post double-
digit growth and concluded the
year with sales up 14.7% to around
150,000 units for the month. In the
Middle East, a record high of 11,130
sales were achieved for Audi in the
region.
“2014 is impressive evidence of
the Audi brand’s strength,” says
Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the
Board of Management of Audi
AG. “We accomplished a very
successful record year even before
the second stage of our model
initiative. Meanwhile, conditions
in many markets continue to be
challenging.”
Overall, Audi achieved new all-
time highs in 50 countries in 2014,
including the Middle East, with
sales of 11,130 (+5%) . Globally, the
company’s deliveries increased
by more than 100,000 units for
the fifth year in a row. Compared
to sales of 949,729 units in 2009,
almost 800,000 more customers
chose the brand with the four rings
last year. In the United States,
deliveries more than doubled in the
same period of time, from 82,716
automobiles in 2009 to 182,011. In
2014, the brand with the four rings
achieved an increase of 15.2% in the
United States.
In Europe, Audi sales climbed
4.2% in 2014 to 762,900 cars – a
new record for the highest selling
premium brand in the region.
Whereas in Western Europe alone
the total market continued to lag
behind its pre-crisis level of 2007
by around one fifth, Audi sales in
2014 exceeded those of 2007 by
around eight percent.
Audi UK in particular recorded
a strong boost in sales last year,
reaching the 150,000 mark for the
first time with a plus of 11.8% to
158,829 customers in the United
Kingdom.
Among the major Asian
markets, South Korea reported
the highest growth for Audi in
the year just ended, up 38.0%
to 27,647 customers. Thanks to
strong demand in particular for the
brand’s full-size models, Audi’s
sales figures have increased more
than four fold in the market over
the past five years.
BMWGroupsellsmore
than2mnvehiclesin’14
T
he BMW Group
delivered more than
2mn vehicles to
customers in 2014, the
company’s fourth record
year in a row. A total of 2,117,965
BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce
vehicles were sold, more than ever
before in the Group’s history (prev.
yr. 1,963,798 / +7.9%). All of the
company’s brands finished the year
strongly with sales in December up
15.2% — a total of 215,217 vehicles
were delivered in the last month of
the year (prev. yr. 186,786).
Ian Robertson, Member of
the Board of Management of
BMW AG responsible for Sales
and Marketing BMW said, “I am
delighted that we achieved our
target of selling more than 2mn
vehicles in 2014, a new record for
the BMW Group. We have seen
good growth throughout the year,
well spread across all major sales
regions. Our new models such as
the BMW X4 and BMW 2 Series
Active Tourer demonstrate our
ability to develop new vehicles
which attract new customers to
the brand. The popularity of the
BMW i3 and BMW i8 shows our
game-changing ‘born electric’
strategy is on track. We are now
looking forward to building on
these successes in 2015.”
2014 was the best year ever for
the BMW brand. Deliveries of
BMW vehicles totalled 1,811,719,
an increase of 9.5% on the previous
year (1,655,138). Sales in December
also achieved a new high, up
14.2% on the same month last year
(177,954 / prev. yr. 155,835).
In its first full year on the
market, the BMW 2 Series Coupé
has been delivered to a total of
27,933 customers while 13,091
customers have taken delivery of
the 2 Series Active Tourer during
the three months it has been on
sale. Sales of the segment-leading
BMW 3 Series were up on last year,
totalling 476,792 (prev. yr. 467,672
/ +2.0%).
Deliveries of the BMW 4 Series
models totalled 119,580 in 2014.
The BMW 5 Series, which also
leads it segment globally, saw sales
increase 1.7% this year, with a total
of 373,053 delivered to customers
worldwide (prev. yr. 366,992). The
BMW X4, which went on sale in
July, has been delivered to 21,688
customers while the new third-
generation of the BMW X5 has
increased sales by 37.4% compared
to last year (147,381 / prev. yr.
107,231).
Around 17,800 customers have
taken delivery of an innovative
BMW i vehicle in 2014. Global
deliveries of the BMW i3 total
16,052; nearly three-quarters
of those sales occurred in the
second half of the year, following
the vehicle’s late-spring market
launch in several major markets
including the USA.
Audi marks
record year