BMW continues to defy broader market trends, with May U.S. sales coming in strong at 30,888 units, translating to 3.4% growth over 2017. That’s adding to an already strong 2018 which the automaker has not wasted, logging growth of 3.3% over the first five months in comparison with the same period last year.
Things are looking good not only for the BMW and MINI brands as a whole, but also for electrified-vehicle sales across the board. Sales of BMW-branded vehicles carded year-over-year growth of 3.3% for May, with 26,662 deliveries during the month. Helping things along was 52% growth for BMW Sport Activity Vehicles, further assisted by strong sales of the X2, X3, and X5; the latter is especially impressive considering that a new generation is on the near horizon.
For 2018 so far, 123,979 roundel-wearing cars have been sold, a 3.2% gain over 2017. MINI was able to beat the overall figure for May with 4%, resulting from sales of 4,063 units, thanks in large part to the MINI Countryman which is picking up steam; the model saw sales growth of 29.4% for May over last year, topped by 61.9% growth for the first five months of 2018.
Electrified-vehicle sales haven’t disappointed, either; impressive growth of 26.9% for May with 2,046 cars sold was posted, which accounts for 6.6% of total sales. The G30 5 Series is doing well enough on its own in the shrinking mid-size-sedan segment, but the 530e iPerformance is most certainly a boon, with sales of that model alone approaching 20% of the platform as a whole. The BMW lineup now includes seven electrified models for U.S. customers, including the 530e, i3, i8, 330e, 740e, X5 xDrive 40e, and MINI Countryman PHEV. Lest we forget, 2017 saw deliveries of BMW i and BMW iPerformance vehicles eclipse those of M cars!
More than a few of us have fallen in love with BMW as the result of owning a used example, and this segment is also doing well. Certified Pre-Owned sales are up a robust 14.5% over last year with 12,145 units moved, which contributed to the best May in history for overall BMW pre-owned sales, with deliveries of 23,147 vehicles. MINI also did well, with growth of 36.5% for CPO vehicles sales, and a gain of 11.8% for pre-owned sales as a whole.—Alex Tock
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]
