BMW Board Member Ian Robertson stands alongside the updated i3 and new i3s models.
The sales of electrified vehicles by the BMW Group in the first three quarters of 2017 have increased 64.2 % and have exceeded those achieved in the whole of 2016, the German automaker reports, adding it now expects to sell 100,000 electrified units for the first time ever this year.
Carmakers all over the world have made commitments, under pressure from government policy makers in places such as China, to build and sell more electric vehicles despite consumer resistance.
In September, BMW’s sales of electrified exceeded 10,000 units for the first time in a single month, the automaker reported. With the company’s electrified line-up totaling nine models, the automaker’s sales of electric vehicles increased by 50.5%. In all, BMW delivered a total 10,786 BMW i, BMW iPerformance and Mini Electric vehicles were delivered during September, bringing the year-to-date total to 68,687.
“We are pleased to see the ongoing, strong sales development of our unrivalled range of electrified vehicles, with independent reports confirming our leadership in the field of electromobility,” commented Ian Robertson, BMW AG Management Board Member for Sales and Brand BMW.
(BMW talking with Great Wall about EV deal in China. For the story, Click Here.)
The new 5 Series hybrid is accounting for nearly a third of the vehicle's sales in some markets right now.
“The BMW Group has the largest share of the electrified market worldwide; this year, we’ve already sold more electrified vehicles than in the whole of last year and we are well on track to deliver our target of 100,000 by year-end.
The continued significant sales growth of these vehicles is due in part to the increasing availability of the BMW 5 Series plug-in hybrid, which in some markets accounts for up to a third of BMW 5 Series sedan sales,” he said.
In the first three quarters of 2017, sales of BMW brand increased by 3.9% with a total of 1.53 million customer deliveries worldwide.
Sales of the BMW X family, despite the lack of availability of the BMW X3 due to the current model changeover, increased 12.5% to 522,360 units in the first nine months of the year. Other models contributing significantly to sales growth this year include the BMW 1 Series, which increased by 10.8%, and the top of the line BMW 7 Series increased by 14.7%.
(Click Here for details about the BMW partnership with FCA, Intel and Mobileye.)
Meanwhile in September, the new BMW 5 Series achieved sales growth of 48.8% in markets excluding China, where the 5 Series is currently in model changeover.
The first nine months of the year also saw Mini achieve record sales, increasing of 2.8%. “Mini continues to achieve sustainable sales growth with the new Mini Countryman proving a particularly strong growth driver,” commented Peter Schwarzenbauer, BMW AG Management Board member for Mini, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad.
“The popularity of the first ever Mini plug-in hybrid, which has already been delivered to more than 2,700 customers worldwide since it was introduced in June, is particularly exciting,” he continued. Almost one in 10 Countryman sold in September was a Mini Cooper S E Countryman ALL4.
(To see what comes between the i3 and i8, Click Here.)
However, Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group’s ultra-luxury brand, reported a 10.7% decline in deliveries to customers in the first three quarters of the year. The new Phantom was unveiled in July in London to worldwide acclaim and already has a strong order book, BMW officials said.