August was a robust month for BMW sales in the U.S., with the BMW brand posting growth of 7.2% from 23,789 deliveries last August, to 25,505 last month. The BMW brand is up 2.9% for the year thanks to unit sales of 204,960 compared with 199,157 during the same period of 2018. Digging into the details, BMW passenger car offerings are continuing to face shrinking demand, with 12,293 deliveries taking place last month, a decrease of 14.9% compared to the 14,450 that occurred during August of 2018. MINI, which has logged month after month of losses this year, finally gained some traction in August, with year-over-year sales growing from 3,800 to 3,838, an increase of 1%, coming almost exclusively from a single model, the Countryman.
BMW NA saw sales expand from 27,589 to 29,416 during August, growth of 6.6%. Things are still in the negative year-to-date, but only by a few hundred vehicles; 229,208 deliveries of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles have taken place this year, as opposed to 229,889 during the same period of 2018, a decrease of 0.3%. The biggest drag on things continues to be MINI, which remains negative by 20.9% year-to-date.
As noted above, BMWs SAVs and SACs are carrying the brand in the U.S., along with help from the previous volume seller, the 3 Series. BMW light truck sales grew 41.5% in August, from 9,339 to 12,212, and they’re also up 35.3% for the year, while passenger car sales remain down 15.3%. During August, X5 sales really took off, with the SAV that’s now available in its fourth generation carding growth of 103.2% from unit deliveries that grew from 2,225 to 4,522 year-over-year. Year-to-date, the X5 is up 11.8%, thanks to unit sales increasing from 29,256 to 32,696. X3 sales were flat during August, with 6,360 of the entry-level SAV sold, an increase of just 0.3% over last August’s total of 6,344. The X3 is still up massively year-to-date, with growth of 24.9% coming from sales that expanded from 35,379 to 44,177. The X4 is also catching some wind in its sails; deliveries grew 64.3% to 517 during August, and year-to-date, the SAC is up 95% thanks to unit sales expanding from 2,506 to 4,886.
The 3 Series logged a 6.2% increase year-over-year, with 3,984 units sold this August, and 3,751 sold a year ago. The venerable Three is down 8.3% for the year, but the G20 only recently achieved full availability at dealerships and the decrease may just turn around by the end of the year. For 2019 so far, 28,534 3 Series have been sold, compared with 31,116 during same period of 2018. The X7 is another big seller. While the 7 Series is selling in the hundreds each month, the X7 is moving by the thousand. BMW sold 1,741 of its largest model last month, which brings the year-to-date total to 12,020. Compare that with 762 7 Series sold in August, and 5,421 for the year. The 7 is doing quite well on its own though, and the new facelift seems to be well received. 7 Series deliveries were up 27.6% from 597 to the aforementioned 762 year-over-year, and have grown 14.3% from 5,421 to 6,197 year-to-date.
BMW Group Electrified sales plunged in the U.S. last month, with a decrease of 37.6% being posted on a year-over-year basis. As we have reiterated in nearly every sales report this year, 2019 has seen extensive model changeover as far as EVs are concerned. Just five models are currently available in the U.S., including the i3, i8, 745e, 530e, and the MINI Countryman Hybrid. Several others, which we have covered on this website, will soon be joining the lineup in 2020.
BMW pre-owned sales amounted to 23,176 in August, an increase of 4.9% year-over-year. BMW Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) deliveries came in at 11,004, a decrease of 0.9%. MINI had sales of 2,975 pre-owned vehicles, an increase of 0.7%, while MINI CPO deliveries decreased 6.4% to 1,282.—Alex Tock
[Photos courtesy BMW AG.]
