In a year when total U.S. sales of BMW vehicles is down and most premium brands are experiencing sales slumps, any increase is good news. BMW Sales in September 2017 increased 0.7% over the same month in 2016, so that's good news. U.S. dealers sold 25,571 BMWs in September compared to 25,389 a year ago.
That brought the total number of BMWs delivered in the U.S. during the first nine months of the year to 220,175, still down 4.3% from the 230,133 sold during the same period last year.
Big movers for BMW in September were the BMW 4 Series, 5 Series, and reliable X5. The 4 Series increased 58.9% to 3,637 vehicles, the BMW 5 Series jumped an amazing 144.4% to 3,718 cars, while the 3,975 BMW X5s sold represented a 6.0% bump.
“The hot summer has given way to autumn and an uptick in sales, fueled in part by continued strong demand for the new 5 Series, as well as demand in Texas and Florida where customers are now replacing their flood- and hurricane-damaged vehicles,” said Bernhard Kuhnt, President and CEO of BMW of North America. “We are also anticipating growth in our Sports Activity Vehicles as expansion at our X model plant in South Carolina means we’ll have more X5’s this month followed by the eagerly awaited introduction of the all-new X3 in November.”
The sales happiness did not carry over to the BMW Group's other major U.S. brand, as Mini sales dropped 7.2% to 3,736 units in September. So far this year, Mini USA reported 34,787 vehicles sold compared to 38,911 a year ago at this time.
Another bright spot for the BMW Group was the continued demand for electrified BMWs. BMW i, iPerformance and electric Mini sales through the end of September 2017 totaled 13,533 units. Sales of electrified BMW Group vehicles accounted for 5.3% of all BMW Group U.S. sales through September. These included sales of BMW i3 and i3 Range Extended, i8, BMW 330e, BMW 530e, BMW 740e, BMW X5 xDrive 40e, and the Mini Countryman plug-in hybrid.
In the three-way race for the U.S. premium sales crown, Mercedes-Benz forged ahead with the most sales in September, bringing its 2017 totals to 242,250 vehicles. Although Lexus had a better September than BMW, the Bavarians maintained second place by a slim margin of 515 vehicles, with a year-to-date total of 220,175 versus third-place Lexus at 219,659.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]
