BMW Group sold a total of 173,454 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles around the world during August, marking an increase of 2.1 per cent year-on-year.

This means that in the first eight months of the year, deliveries rose 1.6 per cent (1,597,021) compared with the same period last year.

“Despite headwinds and a highly competitive situation in several important markets, the BMW Group has achieved a slight sales increase both in the month and the year-to-date,” said Pieter Nota, BMW AG management board member responsible for Sales and Brand BMW. “Our electrified sales are achieving significant growth, with deliveries up over 60 per cent compared with August last year.”

A total of 11,669 (+62.3 per cent) BMW Group Electrified vehicles were handed over to customers in August, bringing the year-to-date total to 82,977 (+43.3 per cent). “These figures mean we are well on track to achieve our target of 140,000 electrified deliveries this year, and customer demand continues to grow,” commented Nota.

“In Norway, we’ve just launched a pilot project to pre-order the BMW iX3, which is due to start production in 2020, via an app. Within less than two weeks, around 1,000 Norwegian customers have already registered, including paying a €1,600 deposit on the first-ever pure-electric BMW core model,” Nota explained.

Sales of BMW i, BMW iPerformance and MINI Electric vehicles continue to grow around the world. In August, global BMW i sales were up 30.0 per cent, BMW iPerformance increased deliveries by 77.2 per cent and MINI Electric sales grew 51.4 per cent. The share of electrified as a proportion of overall BMW Group sales also continues to increase: in August 2018, electrified vehicles accounted for almost 7 per cent of global BMW and MINI sales, compared with just over 4 per cent in the same month last year.

The BMW brand delivered 151,663 (+3.2 per cent) vehicles to customers in August, bringing year-to-date sales to 1,365,498 (+2.0 per cent). Sales of the BMW 5 Series continue to grow, with 27,715 sold in August, an increase of 13.9 per cent on the same month last year.

The August figures also reflect the ongoing popularity of the BMW X family of vehicles: global deliveries totalled 57,129 units (+14.3 per cent) and accounted for 37.7 per cent of all BMW brand sales, despite the current model change-over of the BMW X4. The increase in X family deliveries was due largely to improving availability of the BMW X3, which grew sales by 73.3 per cent (17,447) in August.

In the first eight months of the year, global MINI brand sales achieved almost the same high level as last year with 229,204 units sold worldwide (-0.7 per cent).

Meanwhile, although adjustments in production required by the introduction of new models have affected availability at BMW Motorrad in the year-to-date, deliveries in August increased by 3.1 per cent year-on-year, with a total of 10,830 units sold worldwide.

Slight growth despite challenging conditions
All three major sales regions contributed to the company’s positive sales result, both in August and the year-to-date. Asia remains the main growth driver, with China particularly strong in August, while the Americas continue to achieve slight growth, despite strong competition in the US.

In Europe, regulatory changes introduced at the beginning of September mean the market is exceptionally competitive at the moment, and likely to remain so for the coming weeks. In addition, political and economic uncertainty in some European markets has also led to a dampening of those markets. Nevertheless, year-to-date and August BMW Group sales in Europe remain stable at last year’s level. – TradeArabia News Service