The BMW Group posted positive sales results for June, more specifically year-over-year growth of 0.7%, with 240,674 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles delivered. For the first half of 2019, BMW Group vehicle deliveries were up 0.8% thanks to more than 1,250,000 (1,252,837 to be exact) vehicles meeting new homes, an impressive threshold that has never been crossed by the company before.
The BMW brand saw sales grow 1.4% in June, thanks to 203,523 worldwide deliveries. For the first six months of the year, 1,075,959 BMWs were sold, an increase of 1.6%. As one may expect, X models are continuing to enjoy remarkable popularity, and sales of the model portfolio were up 23.1% for the year-to-date. More specifically, the X2 experienced growth of 19.1% in June, while the X4 carded an expansion of 70.4%. The X3 is the big volume seller, it’s also in huge demand right now, with sales increasing 66.6% last month. The X7 just became available in the last three months, but BMW has already delivered 13,555 of their largest vehicle ever. Of the 1,075,959 BMWs delivered from January through June, a staggering 467,134 of them were X vehicles, or 43.4%. Last year, the X model share was 35.8%.
BMW recently announced that it is ahead of schedule in terms of its electrical vehicle rollout efforts, and that it will have 25 vehicles with some form of electrification on the market in 2023. That’s two years sooner than previously planned, and more than half of the 25 models will rely solely on electricity for motivation. At the same time, BMW also stated that it expects EV deliveries in 2021 to be double the total figure for 2019.
During the first half of the year, BMW i Sales grew 22%, thanks to strong demand for the i8 roadster, and the most current version of the i3, the latter of which saw an increase of 21.2% over the same period. BMW 5 Series PHEV deliveries are also up 43.4% for 2019 so far, while the MINI Cooper SE PHEV saw growth of 55.8%. Even with all of those positives though, BMW Group Electrified saw sales shrink 15.4% in June, to 11,684 deliveries, while they’re also down 1.8% year-to-date, to 59,593 unit sales, with important model changeover attributed as the main factor at play.
Regionally speaking, all of the BMW Group’s major markets landed in positive territory with the exception of Europe, which was down 4.3% in June with 110,269 deliveries. Germany and the U.K. are the largest national markets there, and both were in the negative for June as well. Germany was down 3.2% to 29,866 deliveries, while the U.K. carded a decrease of 11.1% to 29,733. Germany is still positive for the year at 4.1% with 163,862 unit sales, but the U.K. is down 3%, with 120,349. Europe is also negative by 2.1% with 549,894 deliveries during the first half of 2019. Asia posted growth of 9.5% for June thanks to 81,894 deliveries, and is also up 6.9% for the year owing to 452,245 unit sales. China is the largest player, and the country witnessed 61,564 unit sales during June, an increase of 20.9%. That brings the year-to-date total to 350,070, which represents growth of 16.8%. Japan posted a positive move of 8.1% with 8,911 deliveries for June, and that nation is also positive for 2019 with 36,768 unit sales translating to an expansion of 1.6%. The Americas were essentially flat with growth of 0.2% coming from 42,820 deliveries in June, while 221,438 have occurred year-to-date, or 1.8% fewer than the same period of 2018. The U.S. saw solid growth during June, with sales growing 3.9% to 34,862, but we are still down 1.1% for the year with 174,023 deliveries taking place. Latin America posted a significant drop of 12.2% to 4,254 vehicles, along with year-to-date results of 25,581, a decrease of 1.4%.
MINI sales are continuing their occupancy of negative territory, with deliveries decreasing 3.5% in June to 36,654, and 3.9% for the the first six months of 2019, to 174,344. Help may be on the way though, in the form of the MINI ELECTRIC which was first shown to the public last week—the model goes into production at BMW Plant Oxford this November, and over 40,000 customers have already expressed interest in the car.
Rolls-Royce is up an impressive 42.3% year-to-date, owing to deliveries that amounted to 2,534. The number may seem small in comparison to other figures on this page, but the length of time and customization involved with building any Rolls-Royce model is something to marvel at, and it’s said that the brand is seeing sustained demand for all model families in every region worldwide. The Cullinan, the first SUV offered by the ultra-luxury marque, currently has an order book that stretches into the first quarter of 2020, even with a starting price of $325,000.
BMW Motorrad sales are also on a steady upswing. In June, deliveries grew 7.4% with 18,230 unit sales, and year-to-date, 93,188 deliveries have resulted in growth of 7.1%.—Alex Tock
[Photos courtesy BMW AG.]
