• Sun, 2016-10-16 23:35
    • /Scott
    BMW News

    BMW Group worldwide sales set another record in September as 237,973 vehicles were delivered to customers, more than in any September before. The 10.5% increase in sales brought the total number of units sold in the first nine months of 2016 to 1,746,638—a 6.2% jump compared to the same time in 2015, and a company record for the first three-quarters of any year.

    “Once again, the BMW Group has delivered strong sales growth across the company’s lineup,” said Dr. Ian Robertson, BMW AG Board of Management member for BMW sales and marketing. He added, “Demand for our premium models continues to grow around the world and in all vehicle classes. Customer interest in our broad range of electrified models is also stronger than ever, with a clear upward trend. Our policy of balanced global sales continues to deliver sustainable success and profitability remains our primary focus,”

    In September, counting BMW brand sales alone, the 197,419 deliveries represented a 9.4% increase over September last year. Worldwide sale of the BMW X1 were up 161.9%; X3 sales climbed 12.9%; X4 deliveries increased 15.9%; and the number of X5s that went out the door improved 17.9%. On the car side, BMW 7 Series sales experienced a massive 237.5% leap that was understandable since the newest 7 had just been released a year ago.

    Overall year-to-date BMW sales improved 6.0% to 1,479,936 BMWs sold.

    About the only market in the world where BMW sales were down was in the U.S., where sales through three quarters of 2016 lagged behind 2015 deliveries by about 7.9%. BMW attibutes the situation there to less availablility of utility vehicles. In an interview with Automotive News, Ludwig Willisch, President and CEO of BMW of North America explained, "We can clearly see and compare our share of [light] trucks to what others have, and we are still trailing." Willisch said that the U.S. market would have needed 15,000 more utility vehicles this year to stay even with the other companies, but that wasn't going to happen. 
     
    Electrified BMWs have also been selling better this year. Over 7,000 BMW i and iPerformance models were sold in September, bringing the year-to-date total to more than 40,000.
     

    Global sales of Mini brand vehicles were up 16.1% in September with 40,164 deliveries. "This is the first time more than 40,000 Minis have been sold in a single month, which underlines the increasing customer demand for the brand,” said Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Mini, BMW Motorrad. and Rolls-Royce. He continued, “Our biggest growth drivers are the newest members of the Mini family—the Mini Convertible and the Mini Clubman—demonstrating the success of our brand realignment." In the first three quarters of 2016, Mini sales rose by 7.2% and stood at 264,077.

    Rolls-Royce Motor Cars had the best-ever third quarter sales in the company’s history, up 12.7% from the previous year. More than 2,600 of the ultra-luxury cars were delivered in the first nine months of the year, led by the Rolls-Royce Dawn, Black Badge Wraith, and Black Badge Ghost.

    BMW Motorrad sold 12,215 motorcycles and maxi-scooters in September, a 10.2 percent jump from last year. Overall sales in the first three-quarters of 2016 of 116,044 bikes represented 3.2% more sales than the same period in 2015.

    BMW’s record-setting worldwide sales would normally be outstanding news, and for the company’s bottom line, it certainly is. The only dampener is that BMW’s arch rival, Mercedes-Benz, has been having an even better year. As of the end of September, Mercedes-Benz was 57,985 vehicles ahead of BMW in worldwide sales and seemed likely to retake the global luxury sales crown for the first time since 2005. Audi remained solidly in third place.—Scott Blazey

    [Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]