BMW reported a new July record for global sales of BMW Group vehicles; the 180,080 worldwide customer deliveries represented a 4% increase over July 2015, and it was the best July ever for BMW Group sales. Those sales maintained a trend established in the first half of 2016: The BMW Group's global sales of 1,343,217 also set a first-half record.
The July sales kept going a trend established in the first half of 2016, in which the BMW Group’s global sales of 1,343,217 was also a first-half record.
“The BMW Group continues to deliver sustainable, profitable sales growth month after month,” said Dr Ian Robertson, Member of the BMW AG Board of Management for Sales and Marketing BMW. “While we see growth across our range, the fact that the planned production for our electrified 7 Series, 3 Series, and 2 Series Active Tourer models is already sold out this year demonstrates our strategy of rolling out electrification on all models is the right one. We will, of course, now respond to this high customer demand,” Robertson continued.
Of the total global July sales, 153,392 were BMW-branded vehicles, which was also a 4.0 percent increase over a year ago. The models with the biggest sales improvements were the BMW 2 Series, up 43.6 percent; the BMW X1, up 69.6 percent; and the BMW 7 Series, up 40.0 percent.
Mini followed BMW closely, with a record July in which 26,439 Minis were sold worldwide. This was in the wake of Mini’s own record first half of 2016, in which the company delivered 201,337 Minis.
Most of the BMW Group’s worldwide sales regions experienced increased sales in July 2016 over the same month a year ago. The exception was in the United States, where BMW Group product sales declined 3.9 percent in July. Total U.S. BMW and Mini year-to-date deliveries were 9.5% with a total of 209,131 BMWs and Minis sold.
Despite record sales globally, BMW is in danger of losing its premium vehicle sales crown to Mercedes-Benz for the first time since 2005. Through the end of July, Mercedes-Benz has sold more than 1,170,000 vehicles, which put it about 30,000 units ahead of BMW. For the purposes of the premium sales lead, BMW does not count Mini and Mercedes-Benz does not count its trucks or Smart cars.
Analysts credit the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the GLC crossover for generating Mercedes-Benz’s sales lead, coupled with the fact that BMW will not field a new 5 Series Sedan—which is the competition for the E-Class—until next year.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]
