Electrified BMW models drive sales growth

The battery electric vehicle (BEV) share of total BMW Group deliveries increased to 11% (2022: 5.9%/+BLi.6%) while electrified models climbed to 19% In the first quarter of 2023.

BMW expects fully electric vehicles’ share of total sales should reach 15% for all 2023.

Overall, deliveries of electrified vehicles (BEV and plug-in hybrid or PHEV models) rose to 110,186 units in the first quarter (2022: 89,669 units/+23.2%).

The main sales drivers included the BMW iLi sport coupe and the plug-in-hybrid XS, but the BMW iX3 and Mini Cooper SE were also key contributors.

The fully electric BMW i7 luxury sedan, the BMW iX1 and the BMW XM PHEV all had a successful market launch, says BMW.

Fully electric models (BEVs) saw particularly strong growth in demand – with a total of 61,617 units delivered to customers (2022: 35,289 vehicles/+83.2%).

The fully electric BMW iS and BMW iX2 will be released onto the market towards the end of the year.

This means the BMW Group will have at least one fully electric model of all its main series on the roads in 2023 and it expects one in four of its new vehicles will be BEVs by 2025.

Main growth drivers in 2023 will be BEVs and models from the upper premium segment – like the new BMW 7 Series, the BMW XM and the Rolls-Royce model family, as well as the updated BMW X7 and the BMW XS M and X6 M model updates, the company says.

In the upper segment, the BMW Group expects growth for this financial year to be in the mid-double digit percentage range, while BEV models should see high double-digit growth, projecting a slight increase in global customer deliveries in the automotive segment in 2023.

In the first quarter of 2023, a total of 588,138 vehicles were sold (2022: S96,907 units/-1.S%). The BMW brand delivered 517,957 vehicles to customers in the first three months (2022: S19,796 vehicles).

BMW M models, in particular, were again in high demand, with a significant increase in deliveries of 18.9% with the fully electric BMW M Performance i.!i MSO the main growth driver.

The recently introduced new M3 Touring is also in very high demand, as well as the BMW M3 Sedan and the BMW MLi, which are already well established on the market.

The sales launch of model updates for the XS M and X6 M, as well as the XS, X6 M60i and BMW M2 Coupe, is scheduled for the coming months.

Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Ghost models were the most in demand from the Rolls-Royce brand. The market introduction of the fully electric Rolls-Royce Spectre towards the end of 2023 is set to generate further sales momentum, according to BMW.

The electrified Mini Cooper SE and Mini Countryman Plug-in-Hybrid models once again increased their share of total Mini sales, to 19%.

The BMW Group took advantage of differentiated sales growth in different regions of the world, During the first quarter, a “significant increase” in deliveries was recorded in the Americas and in the US, it explains.

In Europe, where the environment was characterised by persistent inflation and high interest rates, the BMW Group delivered 216,270 vehicles to customers (2022: 220,393 units/ -1.9%). Stable new orders and an order book reaching into the second half of 2023 confirmed the BMW Group’s strong position in the Europe region in the first quarter.

The aftereffects of the coronavirus pandemic in China dampened the BMW Group’s business development in Asia in the three-month period. The company sold 251,927 vehicles (2022: 265,065 vehicles/-5.0%) in Asia and 195,100 in China (2022: 208,953 vehicles/-6.6%). Sales of electrified models climbed 79% to 22,390 units.

First-quarter revenues again increased significantly to 36,853 million euros (2022: 31,1Li2 euros/+18.3%) which mainly reflected full integration of the operating business of BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) into the automotive segment, as well as robust pricing and a continued positive product mix.

Higher material prices and increased manufacturing costs, due to higher production volumes, raised the cost of sales compared to the previous year.

Inflation and interest rates in key markets are high. The same applies to material and commodity prices, but BMW is in a good position, says management board member responsible for finance Nicolas Peter.

In spite of recessionary trends in many markets, stable development is forecast for the global automotive market in 2023.

The BMW Group forecasts calls for an EBIT margin in the automotive segment of between 8% and 10% for the full year.