BMW Group sales up slightly despite headwinds

In August, the BMW Group sold a total of 173,454 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles around the world, an increase of 2.1% year-on-year. This means that in the first eight months of the year, deliveries rose 1.6% (1,597,021) compared with the same period last year.

“Despite headwinds and a highly competitive situation in several important markets, the BMW Group has achieved a slight sales increase both in the month and the year-to-date,” said Pieter Nota, BMW AG Management Board member responsible for Sales and Brand BMW. “Our electrified sales are achieving significant growth, with deliveries up over 60% compared with August last year,” Nota continued.

A total of 11,669 (+62.3%) BMW Group Electrified vehicles were handed over to customers in August, bringing the year-to-date total to 82,977 (+43.3%). “These figures mean we are well on track to achieve our target of 140,000 electrified deliveries this year, and customer demand continues to grow,” commented Pieter Nota. “In Norway, we’ve just launched a pilot project to pre-order the BMW iX3, which is due to start production in 2020, via an app. Within less than two weeks, around 1,000 Norwegian customers have already registered, including paying a €1,600 deposit on the first-ever pure-electric BMW core model,” Nota explained.

Sales of BMW i, BMW iPerformance and MINI Electric vehicles continue to grow around the world. In August, global BMW i sales were up 30.0%, BMW iPerformance increased deliveries by 77.2% and MINI Electric sales grew 51.4%. The share of electrified as a proportion of overall BMW Group sales also continues to increase: in August 2018, electrified vehicles accounted for almost 7% of global BMW and MINI sales, compared with just over 4% in the same month last year.

The BMW brand delivered 151,663 (+3.2%) vehicles to customers in August, bringing year-to-date sales to 1,365,498 (+2.0%). Sales of the BMW 5 Series continue to grow, with 27,715 sold in August, an increase of 13.9% on the same month last year. The August figures also reflect the ongoing popularity of the BMW X family of vehicles: global deliveries totalled 57,129 units (+14.3%) and accounted for 37.7% of all BMW brand sales, despite the current model change-over of the BMW X4. The increase in X family deliveries was due largely to improving availability of the BMW X3, which grew sales by 73.3% (17,447) in August.

In the first eight months of the year, global MINI brand sales achieved almost the same high level as last year with 229,204 units sold worldwide (-0.7%).

Meanwhile, although adjustments in production required by the introduction of new models have affected availability at BMW Motorrad in the year-to-date, deliveries in August increased by 3.1% year-on-year, with a total of 10,830 units sold worldwide.

Slight growth despite challenging conditions

All three major sales regions contributed to the company’s positive sales result, both in August and the year-to-date. Asia remains the main growth driver, with China particularly strong in August, while the Americas continue to achieve slight growth, despite strong competition in the USA. In Europe, regulatory changes introduced at the beginning of September mean the market is exceptionally competitive at the moment, and likely to remain so for the coming weeks. In addition, political and economic uncertainty in some European markets has also led to a dampening of those markets. Nevertheless, year-to-date and August BMW Group sales in Europe remain stable at last year’s level.

*Provisional registration figures 

BMW Group sales in/ytd August 2018 at a glance

*BMW i, BMW iPerformance, MINI Electric