When a for-profit company reaches the 100th anniversary of its founding, perhaps the most appropriate way to celebrate is to sell more of its products in its anniversary month than at any time in its history.
Of course we're referring to BMW, which considers March 7, 1916, its birthday, as it is the date it became a legal corporate entity in Germany. One-hundred years later in March 2016, the BMW Group sold more cars on one month—240,659—than in any single month in its entire history. These included a total of 201,352 BMW-branded automobiles delivered in March, the first time ever that the company sold over 200,000 four-wheeled BMWs in a single month. The remaining 39,307 BMW Group vehicles sold in March were Rolls-Royces and Minis, with Mini also establishing the best single month of sales in its history.
Looking strictly at BMW cars and light trucks, the first quarter of 2016 that ended in March saw 478,743 BMWs sold around the world, up 6 percent from the same period in 2015, and also a record.
The happiest person in the company might be Dr. Ian Robertson, the BMW AG Board of Management member responsible for BMW sales and marketing. “March 2016 has been the best single month ever for BMW Group sales and I’m delighted to see that our innovative product range is enabling us to achieve ongoing, sustainable, and profitable growth,” said Dr. Robertson. “Globally, I am confident that we will see this positive trend continue through the year.”
Not to be outdone, BMW Motorrad also experienced an all-time record month in March, selling 16,465 BMW motorcycles and maxi-scooters. A total of 33,788 BMW bikes were delivered worldwide in the first quarter of 2016, also an all-time record.
Leading the way in first quarter BMW sales were deliveries of 51,002 BMW X1 Sports Activity Vehicles, which was a 67.7 percent improvement over the same period a year ago. A worldwide total of 43,657 2 Series represented a 56.3 percent increase over the first three months of 2015. X3 sales were up 27.2 percent at 38,719 units, X6 deliveries jumped 15.1 percent with 11,043 deliveries, and sales of 10,588 top-of-the-line 7 Series was a 20.3 percent improvement for this year’s first quarter.
January through March of this year also saw 5,128 BMW i vehicles go to customers worldwide.
BMW and Mini sales were up in Europe and Asia. The market that helped push BMW Group sales to new heights but did not share in individual sales records was the U.S., where year-to-date sales were 81,452, down 10.9 percent from the first quarter of 2015.
While record sales are good news for the BMW Group, all is not rosy for the Bavarians in the luxury car market. BMW has been the global premium vehicle sales leader for years. Its archrival, Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz, which has not held the worldwide luxury car sales crown since 2004, is off to an even better start in 2016 than BMW’s record pace. Due largely to sales in China, Mercedes-Benz is on a pace to take the global crown from BMW this year.
First-quarter 2016 Mercedes-Benz sales were 483,487, topping BMW's total by 4,744 units and representing a 13 percent jump over last year. That’s more than twice BMW’s 6 percent improvement. You have to expect that now and then, Mercedes-Benz might climb to the top of the worldwide market. After all, as the folks at Daimler like to point out, it has been in the car-selling business longer than BMW.
Be that as it may, there is no denying BMW’s historic sales accomplishments, especially its impeccable timing in reaching record sales just as it celebrates its centenary.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]
