The BMW Group continues to celebrate its 100th anniversary by setting global sales records. February was another record month; the Group as a whole moved 163,965 BMW and Mini vehicles, a 7.9% increase over February a year ago. That's a pretty good bump—much more than can be attributed to February 2016 simply having an extra day.
“As we activate our year of centenary events, I’m delighted that our sales continue to grow at a sustainable rate,” said Dr. Ian Robertson, member of the BMW AG board of management for BMW sales and marketing. “As we expected, we are seeing tailwinds in some markets but headwinds in others. However with our innovative new models, we remain optimistic that we will continue to achieve steady sales growth as the year progresses,” he added.
Those headwinds to which Dr. Robertson referred might be the slower 2016 sales in the North American market. Specifically, BMW sales in the U.S. are off from the previous year for the second month in a row.
Globally, however, BMW-branded vehicle sales were up 8.3 percent, with 277,304 moved worldwide. The 1 Series was up 14.3 percent with 24,621 models delivered. The 2 Series, led by the 2 Series Active Tourer and 2 Series Gran Tourer, were in similar territory with 24,014 vehicles sold. The 21.6 percent jump in 7 Series sales reflects the enthusiasm for the new model launched late last year. BMW continues to reap the harvest it sowed more than 20 years ago in Spartanburg, South Carolina, as X vehicles continued to bolster the bottom line. X3 sales were up 16.8 percent with 22,694 units, and 6,869 X6 Sports Activity Coupes reflected a 20.3 percent bump over February a year ago.
BMW i was on a good pace with 2,871 sales in February.
Mini maintained the positive growth started last year with 39,237 cars delivered, a 4.1 percent increase.
Sales in Europe and Asia were up 11.4 percent and 12.1 percent respectively. In North America, Canadian deliveries were up 8.8 percent with 5,191 BMWs and Minis venturing out into the Great White North, but U.S. sales were down 8.7 percent at 46,657 units.
BMW bike buyers remained enthusiastic, with 17,323 BMW motorcycles and maxi-scooters sold globally so far in 2016, a 12.1 percent increase.
BMW executives predicted 2016 wold be a record year with modest sales increases over 2015. So far, they’re right.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]
