BMW Group EV Sales Register 2x Growth This Q1 With Over 64,000 BEVs Delivered Worldwide

The Bavarian Group sold 588,138 BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce vehicles globally in Q1 2023, a 1.5% decrease from last year. What helped balance out sales performance was a drastic increase in the first-quarter BEV sales, which rose by 83.2% – 64,647 fully electric BMW and Mini cars were delivered to customers in the first three months of this year.

Plans are clear for the automaker regarding electrification – with the introduction of the BMW i5 this year, the BMW Group will have at least one fully-electric model in every major segment of its business. Moreover, by 2024, at least one in five of the brand’s new cars should have a fully electric drive train. Slowly but surely, more and more BEVs will be sold – BMW estimates one in four by 2025, followed by one in three by the following year.

Compared to Mini, the BMW brand enjoyed greater success, more than doubling the sales of fully electric vehicles, with 55,979 units delivered to customers (112.3% growth). The total sales amounted to 517,957 units in Q1 2023, a slight 0.4% decrease from the same period last year. Models from the high-end premium segment, such as the new BMW i7, BMW 7 Series, and the BMW XM, are also significant growth drivers for the brand.

The company stated the impact of China’s coronavirus wave and the unstable economic environment is still being felt across industries, but it expects the issues to stabilize during 2023. On the other hand, the situation in the U.S. looks to be much brighter and solid – BMW and Mini sales consisted of 89,750 units, an 11.4% increase compared to 2022.

In Europe, sales were slightly reduced last year due to the export and production ban for the Russian market. In Q1 this year, 215,917 units were sold, 1.8% less than the previous year. And lastly, there was a 6.6% drop in sales of BMW and Mini models in China, with a total of 194,773 units delivered.

Customers are also very much interested in the BMW M range – sales for these models continue to grow year-on-year. In Q1 2023, 36,430 units were sold (an 18.9% increase). The most sought-after vehicles were the fully electric i4 M50, the newly introduced M3 Touring, and the M3 Sedan, M4, and the XM plug-in hybrid. BMW M plans to expand its high-performance line-up with model updates for the X5 M and X6 M, the X5 and X6 M60i, and the launch of the M2 Coupe.

Let’s also look at how BMW Group’s other brands performed. Rolls-Royce started the year with a very slight growth of 1%, delivering 1,640 vehicles to customers in the first quarter. The ultra-luxury brand is, as expected, in line with BMW Group’s philosophy – it’s preparing to launch The Spectre, the world’s first ultra-luxury electric super coupé, in the fourth quarter of 2023. By the end of the decade, Rolls-Royce will offer only fully electric vehicles.

Mini suffered the highest decrease in sales this Q1, with 68,541 units delivered – that’s 9.2% fewer vehicles than in 2022. However, the brand claims the demand for the fully electric Mini Cooper SE remains high. Furthermore, it’s counting on momentum from the launch of the first fully electric Mini Cooper SE Convertible to boost the results in this year’s second quarter. Two fully electric MINI models were presented this year, as the brand is also taking steps to achieve total electrification by 2030.

Let’s not forget about BMW’s motorcycle brand, BMW Motorrad – between January and March 2023, it boosted sales by 1.1%, to 47,935 units. In fact, this is the best Q1 result the company has ever achieved, mainly thanks to the brand’s growth strategy. Moreover, BMW Motorrad addresses each segment of the market with specific products – the introduction of compelling motorcycles, such as the powerful M 1000 R, will probably ensure the upward sales trend will continue for the rest of the year.

BMW Group is confident about its performance for the rest of this year. Even though the automotive industry is very competitive, especially when it comes to e-mobility, BMW believes its Neue Klasse will further penetrate the market. It also expects positive results at the top end of the market, where the company "is planning for growth in the mid-double-digit percentage range," as it stated.

The increasing popularity of electrified vehicles can also be seen in other of BMW’s competitors. Take Mercedes-Benz, for instance; even though the automaker sold fewer units this Q1 than last year, BEV sales skyrocketed by 210%, amounting to 21,900 units sold. Mercedes-Benz xEV sales, which refer to plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles, grew 37%. to 67,800 units.