BMW’s U.S. sales rally that began late in 2017 has now continued for the first three months of 2018. In March, BMW-branded vehicle sales increased 1.0% in the U.S.—not a huge jump, but a plus is better than a minus every time. BMW of North America moved 31,311 BMWs last month, 296 vehicles more than the same month last year.
For the BMW Group’s total U.S. sales, the BMW bump was the good news. A 9.1% drop in MINI sales compared to March 2017 brought the BMW Group’s first-quarter total U.S. sales to a 3.0% increase over last year.
Continuing a nine-straight-month trend, BMW’s family of X vehicles and the 5 series were again strong sellers. “It’s spring, and thoughts naturally turn to new cars, with March giving us another uptick in sales—five months in a row—as the 5 Series continues to defy conventional thinking and proves there’s still a place in the market for a great sedan,” said Bernhard Kuhnt, president and CEO of BMW of North America. “At the same time, our X-model lineup is expanding, with the X2 now fully in the marketplace and Sports Activity Vehicles nearing 50% of our sales.”
As we all know, the BMW Group has placed a high priority on electrified vehicles, and March 2018 sales seem to indicate that movement is picking up steam. Total sales of BMW i, iPerformance, and electrified MINI sales were up 71.1% from a year ago. The 2,662 electrified vehicles sold accounted for 7.4% of all BMW Group sales in March.
Total BMW Group sales in March reached 35,842 units. Because of the MINI decline, that figure represented a 0.4% decrease from March 2017.
While sales of BMW Certified Pre-Owned vehicles declined 8% in March to 11,666 units, total pre-owned BMW sales increased to 4.5%, or 22,690 vehicles for the period. On the MINI side, as new-car sales went down, used-MINI sales went up. In March, dealers moved 3,025 pre-owned MINIs, a rise of 2.4% from March last year.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]