While total sales for Q1 of 2023 were slightly lower at 588 138 units (-1,5%), there was (again) a significant growth of BEV sales. BMW Group delivered 64 647 fully electric BMW and Mini vehicles, an 83,2% increase compared to Q1 of 2022. This means 11% of the Group’s sales are fully electric.

If plug-in hybrids are included, sales grew by 23 to nearly a fifth (19%) of total sales. Looking at BMW only, the brand sold 517 957 units (-0,4%), of which 55 979 were pure electric (+112,3%). In 2022, the BMW Group famously achieved a BEV share of around 9%.

At the beginning of January, the Group set itself the target of achieving a 15% share of all-electric vehicles in total sales for 2023. Therefore, the Group will still have to improve its BEV sales significantly in the coming quarters.

Doubling every year

In 2022 as a whole, the BMW Group sold a total of 215 755 fully electric vehicles from the BMW and Mini brands (9% of total sales), more than twice as many as in 2021.

The Group was also able to hand over the 500 000th fully electric vehicle to customers’ hands at the end of 2022. In 2021, BMW still stood at 103 855 battery-electric cars. The year 2022 thus corresponded to a growth of 107,7%.

“Our strong product line-up continues to inspire our customers worldwide. Our fully-electric vehicles, in particular, benefit from high global demand. We were, therefore, able to maintain the dynamic pace of our electromobility ramp-up in the first quarter,” said Pieter Nota, BMW Group board member responsible for Customers, Brands, and Sales.

If BMW Group wants to achieve its targeted 15% share of BEVs in 2023, it will thus have to sell some 375 000 BEVs this year, an increase of some 160 000 units or +75%. The Group expects slight growth in overall sales worldwide for 2023.

“The BMW Group is on track for slight sales growth in 2023. The main growth drivers in 2023 will be fully-electric vehicles and models from the high-end premium segment like the new BMW i7, the new BMW 7 Series, the BMW XM, and the updated BMW X7,” Nota continued.

Sales of BMW and Mini during the first quarter were receding in Europe (-1,9%) and Asia (-5%) (also China -6,6%), but growing in the Americas (+8,8%) and particularly in the US (+11,4%).

Ambitious

BMW has high hopes for the new i5 this year. With the introduction of this model, the manufacturer says it has at least one all-electric model in every major segment. Furthermore, the product portfolio will be complemented by the all-electric BMW iX2 and the first all-electric 5 Series Touring at the end of the year.

On this basis, the carmaker expects a steep growth path in the coming years: “By 2024, at least one in five of the company’s new vehicles should have a fully-electric drive train,” says the press release. This means the BMW Group wants to sell some 500 000 BEVs in 2024.

By 2025, one in four (± 625 000) newly delivered vehicles should be a BEV, and, by 2026, about one in three (or a total of over 800 000 BEVS sold). The BMW Group believes that, as the New Class (or’Neue Klasse’) ramps up with its compelling product substance, it has the potential to accelerate the market penetration of e-mobility further.”

The other brands

The Mini brand sold 68 541 units (-9,2%) across all drive types in the first three months of the year. Demand for the all-electric Mini Cooper SE remains high, the manufacturer says, without giving concrete figures on sales of the electric Mini.

For the rest of the year, Mini expects “positive impulses from the sales launch of the all-electric Mini Cooper SE convertible”. “The new Mini family started the year by presenting two fully-electric Mini models and continues to prepare for full electrification of the brand by 2030,” the press release adds.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars started in  2023 with slight growth, delivering 1 640 vehicles to customers (+1%) in the first quarter of 2023. Growth was recorded in most markets, with full order books for all models until the end of the year.

Preparations for initial customer deliveries of the fully electric Rolls-Royce Spectre are in full swing ahead of its market launch in the fourth quarter of 2023. By the end of 2030, Rolls-Royceshould should also offer only fully-electric vehicles.

BMW Motorrad finally increased its sales by +1,1% to 47 935 units, beating its previous all-time high for the first quarter of last year and once again posting its best-ever first-quarter sales result. “This performance confirms BMW Motorrad’s successful growth strategy,” says the official release.

“The brand’s compelling line-up, with successful products that shape their respective segments, paired with the market introduction of strong new models, such as the powerful M 1000 R, should once again help secure the success of BMW Motorrad,” BMW concludes.