The BMW Group says it has once again seen the sales of its electric cars double in the first quarter of 2023.
Posting a significant growth in its global sales of fully-electric vehicles of 83%, the German company delivered a total of 64,647 fully-electric BMW and MINI vehicles to customers in the first three months of the year.
The BMW brand alone was able to more than double its sales of fully-electric vehicles in the first quarter, with 55,979 units delivered to customers, an increase of 112%.
The BMW Group delivered a total of 588,138 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles to customers worldwide in the first quarter of this year, which despite the strength in EV sales represents a fall of -1.5%. The company cited the aftereffects of China’s receding coronavirus wave and its impact on the economic environment as impacting the results, and “are still clearly being felt across all industries”.
The BMW Group expects slight growth in deliveries to customers worldwide in the Automotive Segment in 2023 overall, but sees positive momentum at the top end of the market – where the company is planning for growth in the mid-double-digit percentage range.
“Our strong product lineup continues to inspire our customers worldwide. Our fully-electric vehicles, in particular, are benefiting from high demand around the globe. We were therefore able to maintain the dynamic pace of our electromobility ramp-up in the first quarter,” said Pieter Nota, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Customer, Brands, Sales.
“The BMW Group is on track for slight sales growth in the full year 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.”
The BMW Group expects the Chinese economy to stabilise over the course of the year. The sales situation in the US currently appears to be robust. In Europe, BMW Group sales were down slightly on the previous year, mainly due to the export and production ban for the Russian market. However, a clear upward trend was evident worldwide in March.
With the prospect of profitable growth in what remains a challenging business environment and with a very dynamic increase in sales of electric vehicles, the BMW Group is confident about the year 2023. This is underpinned by a strong order book overall. The BMW Group expects slight growth in deliveries to customers worldwide in the Automotive Segment in 2023.
The BMW Group also expects to see positive momentum at the top end of the market – where the company is planning for growth in the mid-double-digit percentage range. Due to localisation of the long-wheelbase version of the BMW X5 in China, the BMW Group now also has additional capacity for the X family in Spartanburg.
