- Global sales of BMW-branded EVs surged by 22.6 percent in the first nine months of 2023.
- The rate slowed as the year went on, but BMW Group (including Rolls-Royce and Mini) EV sales were still up by 10.1 percent in Q3.
- BMW’s overall performance was less impressive, but the real concern is China, where sales tanked almost 30 percent in Q3.
Automakers around the world are in a flap about falling EV sales, but maybe they’re just making the wrong kind of EVs, because BMW doesn’t seem to be having any problem shifting its battery vehicles. Sales of BMW-branded EVs are up by more than a fifth year-to-date.
BMW sold 22.6 percent more EVs between January and September 2024 than it did in the same period in 2023, according to new figures released by the automaker this week. Broadening the scope to include other BMW Group brands, including Mini and Rolls-Royce, the data shows that EV sales were up 19.1 percent.
Related: BMW Thinks Its High-End EVs Are Immune To Electric Downturn
And though the growth was lower in the most recent three-month period, BMW Group EV deliveries were still up 10.1 percent in Q3 even as the supposed collapse in electric sales being experienced in other corners of the industry started to take effect. Mercedes, for example, suffered a 31 percent decline in EV sales in Q3.
Zooming out again, however, to look at the overall sales picture across all powertrain types, the data shows that BMW Group sales were down 4.5 percent YTD and 13 percent in Q3. BMW-branded vehicles fared less badly, their deliveries dropping 2.3 percent so far in 2024 and 11.4 percent in Q3, a period in which Mercedes grew its sales by 1 percent to 503,600, beating BMW’s 487,000.
BMW’s official explanation for the Group’s Jan-Sep slip is a combination of production stops to deal with faulty Integrated Braking System components, as well as “difficult” market conditions in China. The braking issue is dealt with, but things aren’t going to get easier in China any time soon with domestic automakers continually upping their game and eating into Western brands’ market share.
BMW Group sales
BMW (and Mini) sales dropped 2.1 percent YTD and 9.2 percent in Q3 in the US, and gained 1.4 percent YTD in Europe where they fell by just 1 percent in Q3. But Chinese drivers bought 13.1 percent fewer BMWs in the first nine months of 2024 and registrations tanked by a shocking 29.8 percent in the third quarter, whereas Mercedes was only down 1 percent.
Sporty BMW M cars got away relatively lightly compared with the firm’s other combustion vehicles. Its sales were up 2 percent YTD and down 3.9 percent in Q3. Rolls-Royce – which must be feeling the heat in China – can only dream about such positive stats. Its sales were down 12.8 percent YTD and 16.2 percent in Q3. Hopefully the arrival of the facelifted Ghost will help move the needle in the other direction.
Mini also took a hefty hit, its deliveries plunging 20.9 percent Jan-Sep and 25.2 percent in Q3, though much of that can be blamed on the brand replacing its entire model line. Or at least that’s what Mini bosses will be hoping.