The BMW Group set another record, selling more vehicles in October 2016 than in any previous October. A total of 196,002 units went out the doors, bringing year-to-date sales to 1,942,642, or 5.8% more than at this point in 2015.
“All the BMW Group’s premium brands have contributed to this latest set of record sales results and I am confident this will continue as we head towards year-end,” reported Dr. Ian Robertson, Member of the BMW AG Board of Management for Sales and Marketing BMW. “We’ve just seen the sale of our 100,000th electrified vehicle, underlining our success in the increasingly important electro-mobility segment.” Robertson went on to explain, “Our strategy of flexible, global sales enabled us to offset headwinds in some markets by strengthening sales in other regions, ensuring that profit can remain our focus worldwide.”
At the BMW brand, 1,646,743 vehicles were sold globally in the first ten months of 2016. In October alone, 166,805 BMWs were delivered worldwide. October sales of BMW X1 Sports Activity Vehicles more than doubled with 21,072 sold . BMW X3 sales were up 5.1 percent to 12,533 and X5 sales jumped 4.9 percent to 14,203.
The BMW 7 Series was launched a year ago and its sales have also been strong. Sales of 5,662 7 Series Sedans in October represent a 79.0 percent increase over the same month a year ago.
Sales of BMW i and BMW iPerformance vehicles are climbing. By November, BMW had sold 100,000 electrified Bimmers in the three years since the first i3 was launched. Almost half of those sales—47,286 to be exact—have come in 2016.
“Our sustained efforts in the field of electro-mobility are paying off,” said Dr. Robertson. “BMW i and BMW iPerformance offer customers the largest range of electric drive trains across all segments and BMW i continues its role as the spearhead of innovation at the BMW Group, enabling technologies which can be applied across our entire model range,” he continued.
Mini did well in October, increasing sales 8.9 percent over last year and delivering 28,746 cars worldwide. The new Mini Clubman and Mini Convertible were particularly successful.
Once again, sales of BMWs and Minis were up in Europe, Asia, Canada, and Mexico but down in the U.S. October sales were off 11.6 percent for BMW Group vehicles and down 7.1 percent to 373,822 for the year to date.
BMW Motorrad is having its best year ever. October sales included 10,974 motorcycles and maxi-scooters. For the first ten months of 2016 BMW has sold 127,018 units, up 2.8 percent from 2015.
As good as these numbers are, BMW will likely lose the global premium sales crown to Mercedes-Benz, which so far in 2016 has sold 1,711,017 vehicles compared to BMW with 1,646,743.
Mercedes-Benz will certainly replace BMW as the premium champion in the United States as well this year. In October, Mercedes-Benz sold 28,659 units, down 1.0 percent from last October. It’s year-to-date sales of 277,863 units will keep it well in front of BMW, which through the end of October had moved 254,150 vehicles, down 9.0 percent from the same period in 2015.
While vehicle sales in the rest of the world seem to be strong, many automakers are having problems in the U.S market. Sales are trending down this year after six strong years. Can BMW turn things around in 2017 with a new 5 Series? We’ll find out.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]
