BMW Group grows sales in first three quarters of 2018

In the first three quarters of the year, the BMW Group grew its worldwide sales by 1.3% (1,834,810 units), despite ongoing headwinds in several major sales regions. Sales in September, a month affected by intense competition in Europe, were down 0.8% (237,781) as the company continued to follow its policy of prioritising profitable growth.

September deliveries of BMW i, BMW iPerformance and MINI Electric vehicles totalled 14,559 units worldwide, an increase of 35.0% on the same month last year and the highest monthly total ever for BMW Group electrified. Sales in the year to date total 97,543 (+42.0%), once again confirming the BMW Group’s position as a leading global provider of premium electrified mobility.

Since the launch of the pioneering BMW i3 in 2013, a total of more than 313,000 BMW Group electrified vehicles have now been delivered to customers. At the Paris Auto Show, the new BMW i3 (120 Ah) (combined power consumption: 13.1 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km)* and the BMW i3s (120 Ah).The company is targeting total electrified sales of over half a million by 2020. By 2025, the BMW Group will have at least 25 electrified vehicles in its model line-up, 12 of which will be fully-electric vehicles.

The BMW brand was able to achieve an increase in sales in both the year to date and September, despite an exceptionally competitive environment in Europe and consumer uncertainty caused by recent changes to the tariff regime in several other major markets. Thanks to localisation of the X3 earlier this year in China and South Africa, in addition to production in the USA, the supply of this model has been significantly increased in order to meet the high customer demand worldwide.

Sales at MINI declined slightly in the first three quarters, with a total of 265,935 (-2.0%) vehicles delivered to customers worldwide. MINI deliveries in September were down 9.2% (36,731) as the brand focusses on profitability in an extremely competitive market. 

BMW & MINI sales in the regions/markets

All three major sales regions have recently been faced with an unusually competitive environment due to a variety of reasons. In Europe, the changeover to WLTP certification at the beginning of September led to significant market distortion in the third quarter. Meanwhile the ongoing discussions concerning changes to tariffs in China and the USAresulted in some consumer uncertainty in several markets during the third quarter.

BMW Group sales in/ytd September 2018 at a glance

*BMW i, BMW iPerformance, MINI Electric