BMW posted a strong sales increase over the first two quarters of 2021. The overall sales went up by 39.1 percent on a year-to-date basis. That may seem unimpressive at first considering that the results recorded last year were direly affected by the Coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown. But compared to the same first half of 2019, the pre-pandemic period, BMW recorded an increase of 7.1 percent overall.
In total, the BMW Group sold 1,339,080 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles worldwide over the first two quarters of 2021. The most impressive gain was recorded by electrified models. With 153,267 units sold, the BMW Group grew its sales of both fully-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles by 148.5 percent year-on-year – making electromobility a major growth driver for the company in absolute terms as well. Sales of fully electric vehicles increased by 183.9 percent to a total of 36,089 and plug-in hybrid vehicles by 139.4 percent to 117,178 units.
“We are continuing the decisive electrification of our model line-up and expanding our range of fully-electric vehicles with two key innovation flagships: the BMW iX and the BMW i4,” explained Pieter Nota, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Customer, Brands and Sales. “The iX and the i4 embody a new era of electromobility for BMW and I am looking forward to seeing both on the roads from November. High incoming orders for both models confirm our customers’ strong interest in these highly emotional vehicles.”
As for BMW brand models, they posted increases as well. In the first half of this year, 1,178,292 BMW vehicles (+39.9%) were delivered to customers worldwide. The top performers included the high-volume BMW 3 Series, with growth of almost 50 percent (+49.1%). With sales growth of 33.3 percent, the BMW 5 Series followed closely behind. Sales of the BMW X3, climbed 43.9 percent in the first six months of the year. The fully electric iX3, in particular, gave sales a significant boost.
China remains the biggest market for the BMW Group, with the biggest sales increase overall in the first half of 2021. Sales went up 41.9 percent in China over this time period, adding up to a total of 467,064 units. South Korea did exceptionally well too in Asia, with sales going up by 34.6 percent. Sales in the US during the same period added up to 183,619 units.
