BMW Group delivered 87,458 BEVs globally in the first quarter of 2026. This represents a 20.1% drop compared to the same period last year. The main reason is the declining sales in China and the US. The order intake for electric vehicles in Europe looks significantly better, thanks to the new iX3.
BMW’s battery-electric vehicle deliveries lost momentum at the start of 2026. In the first quarter, the Munich-based manufacturer delivered 87,458 fully electric cars to customers, down significantly from 109,516 in Q1 2025.
Although BMW still managed to close full-year 2025 with more than 442,000 BEV deliveries, marking a slight year-on-year increase, the quarterly trend already showed signs of weakening.
Also in the final quarter of 2025, the carmaker was unable to surpass its BEV sales from the same period a year earlier. The decline in the first quarter of 2026 thus marks the second consecutive drop in quarterly BEV deliveries, pointing to a cooling trajectory after a period of growth.
Familiar headwinds: China and the US
Optimism remains
Battery-electric vehicles accounted for 87,458 units, corresponding to a 15.5% share of total deliveries. Including plug-in hybrids, BMW Group reports 132,518 ‘electrified’ vehicles for the period, as it groups both drive types under this category.
By subtraction, this leaves 45,060 plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), slightly below the 47,979 units recorded in the same quarter last year. BMW does not publish a more detailed breakdown of BEV deliveries by brand.
Despite the declines in the first quarter, the Munich-based carmaker remains optimistic for the current year: “In an overall challenging market environment, the BMW Group was able to hold its ground well and is confident that the attractive, technology-neutral product portfolio as well as the worldwide availability of the Neue Klasse models will generate an increasingly positive momentum,” the company’s statement concluded.
