Photo Credit: BMW Group |
The BMW Group more than doubled sales of fully electric BMW and MINI vehicles worldwide in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year (+149.2%). In the first three months of the year, the company sold a total of 596,907 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles. With its broad portfolio of drivetrains with state-of-the-art technology having a positive climate impact, the BMW Group was able to cater to the different mobility needs of its customers worldwide. Compared with the same period of last year, which was the strongest first quarter in the company’s history, sales showed a moderate decrease (-6.2%). After a strong start to the year, in a highly volatile environment, the combined effects of the geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe and the Covid lockdowns in China overshadowed business development as the quarter progressed. Nevertheless, the company absorbed these impacts well overall.
“Our clear focus is on ramping up electromobility. In the
first quarter, we stepped up the rapid pace of growth from 2021 even further
and are fully on track to meet our ambitious growth targets for fully electric
vehicles in 2022,” said Pieter Nota, member of the Board of
Management of BMW AG responsible for Customer, Brands, Sales. “The demand for
our emotional and innovative products with a wide range of drivetrains covering
all customer needs, remains high worldwide. Thanks to this strong product
line-up and our high level of flexibility and operational excellence, we expect
sales for the full year 2022 to be on a par with last year, despite the challenging
global environment,” Nota continued.
Company sets course for future European sales model
With the introduction of the BMW iX and BMW i4, the BMW
Group has already significantly expanded its digitalisation of the customer
interface and created the necessary conditions for effective, customised
marketing of these two technology flagships. This results in a high order
intake for both vehicles.
With its new sales and marketing strategy, the company puts
the customer experience at the centre of its sales activities. In a next step,
the BMW Group will cater to the changing customer expectations, growing
digitalisation and the expansion of online vehicle sales. “For the region of
Europe, we believe the future lies in a new pan-European agency model. Our
focus is on direct customer access with a high customer loyalty and a seamless,
end-to-end digital and physical premium customer experience,” explained Nota.
The BMW Group is now working out the details of this new model with its
European retail partners. “We want our future sales model for Europe to be
beneficial for everyone involved: for us, our partners in retail and, above
all, for our customers,” Nota continued.
BMW brand sells over half a million vehicles worldwide
The BMW brand also performed well in the first quarter of
the year, thanks to its fresh and innovative product line-up. The high level of
customer interest was reflected in the sale of more than half a million
vehicles (519,796 units) around the globe. The BMW 4 Series, which
combines the brand’s hallmark driving pleasure with sporty elegance, delivered
a particularly impressive performance: Sales for the first three months nearly
doubled year-on-year, at 27,704 units.
BMW Group focuses on ramping up electromobility
Despite challenging conditions, the BMW Group succeeded once
again in more than doubling its first-quarter sales of fully electric vehicles
from the previous year, with a total of 35,289 fully-electric BMW and MINI
vehicles delivered to customers (+149.2%). Especially the BMW iX and BMW i4,
which both will soon be available in markets worldwide, are making a
significant contribution to the ramp-up of electromobility. In 2022, the
company aims to again more than double its sales of fully electric vehicles
compared to last year.
The BMW Group is also setting itself higher targets for its
BEV offering: This year already, including pre-series vehicles, the company
will have 15 fully-electric models in production – serving around 90 percent of
its current segments. In addition to existing models like the BMW i4, BMW iX
and MINI Cooper SE*, this also includes four high-volume BMW model series: the
BMW 3 Series and BMW 5 Series, the BMW X1* and the BMW X3. The new BMW 7 Series
will also play a key role in 2022, with the launch of the new BMW i7*.
With this fast-growing range of products and strong demand
for its new electric models, the BMW iX and the BMW i4, the BMW Group expects
sales of its fully electric vehicles to increase significantly: By the end of
2025, the company aims to have more than two million fully-electric vehicles on
the roads.
Uncompromisingly geared towards fully electric drive trains,
the Neue Klasse will make a significant contribution to BMW Group sales volumes
from the middle of the decade onwards.
The MINI brand will have an all-electric product range by
the early 2030s, while Rolls-Royce will become an all-electric brand from 2030.
All future new models from BMW Motorrad in the field of urban mobility
will also be fully electric, like the BMW CE 04, the new electric
champion for the city.
Customer demand for emotional BMW M products still high
With a total of 39,055 units sold in the first quarter of
2022, BMW M GmbH’s sales were up slightly on the previous year (+3,1%), despite
supply shortages. Demand remains strong. The high-performance M3 and M4 models
newly released onto the market last year continue to enjoy great popularity. In
addition to the successful global market launch of the M240i Coupé* produced in
Mexico, BMW M GmbH also marked another important milestone in its now 50-year
history: In March, it introduced its first fully-electric, emotional BMW M
Performance derivative, the i4 M50 Gran Coupé*. 2022 will be a
special year for the M brand, which celebrates its 50th anniversary on 24 May.
The MINI brand started the first quarter with a slight
increase
The MINI brand delivered a total of 75,487 vehicles in the
first quarter – slightly above (+1.1%) the comparatively high figure for the
previous year. In the first three months of 2022, 8,925 fully-electric Cooper
SEs* were handed over to customers worldwide. The MINI brand is already fully
focused on the road to an all-electric future. The new MINI 3-door from the
next model generation is currently undergoing winter testing. The new MINI
family promises to maximise the customer experience by combining electrified
go-kart feeling with digitalised touchpoints – with a clear focus on
sustainability and a minimal environmental footprint.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars sees nearly 18 percent increase in
sales
With 1,624 motor cars delivered to customers in the first
three months of the year (+17.7%), Rolls-Royce Motor Cars achieved the brand’s
highest first quarter sales result ever in its 117-year history. There was high
demand for all models, with customer orders now extending into early 2023. The
company recently announced its first fully electric car, Rolls-Royce Spectre,
which will come to market in Q4 2023; and that by 2030 all Rolls-Royce products
will be fully electric.
BMW Motorrad: Strong first-quarter result confirms successful
growth strategy
Between January and March, BMW Motorrad increased its sales
by 11.3 percent to 47,403 units – its best-ever sales result for a first
quarter. This performance provides confirmation of BMW Motorrad’s successful
growth strategy. Both its compelling product offering, with a variety of
different models, and the market launch of various new products should once
again guarantee the success of BMW Motorrad.
BMW & MINI sales in the regions/markets
Working closely with its Chinese partners, the BMW Group was
able to sell a total of 208,507 vehicles (-9.2%) in China in
the first quarter, despite the challenging environment. Sales of
fully-electric vehicles also performed well and were up 207.9 percent
year-on-year. In addition to the iX and i4, the iX3* also contributed to this
strong performance.
In the US, BMW and MINI deliveries increased by
3.7 percent to reach 80,590 units. This enabled the company to continue the
sales momentum of the past year.
In Europe, combined sales for BMW and MINI
totalled 220,076 units (-7.8%). With 8,410 fully-electric vehicles registered
in the year to the end of March 2022, the German market contributed
disproportionately to the BMW Group’s electro-offensive. In the first quarter
of 2022, a total of 61,552 vehicles were registered in its home market.
*Provisional registration figures*Provisional registration figures
SOURCE: BMW Group