With its broad offering of premium electrified vehicles, the popularity of the BMW Group’s innovative BMW i and BMW iPerformance models continues to grow rapidly.
Since the beginning of the year, almost 20,000 electrified vehicles have been delivered to customers worldwide, double the number sold by this time last year. First quarter production of electrified vehicles totalled more than 24,000 vehicles.
Scandinavia continues to be a strong region for electrified vehicle sales. As of early April, over 10,000 BMW i3 vehicles have been delivered to customers in Norway since launch.
March also saw the launch of the plug-in hybrid BMW 530e iPerformance in most markets. That model is expected to be a strong growth driver for electrified vehicle sales, as is the MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 plug-in hybrid which will start delivery in June.
With the addition of the BMW 5 Series and the MINI Countryman plug-in, the BMW Group will have nine electrified vehicles in its portfolio including BMW i3, BMW i8, BMW 225xe iPerformance, BMW 330e iPerformance, BMW X5 40e iPerformance and BMW 740e/740Le iPerformance, plus the BMW X1 xDrive 25Le iPerformance sold exclusively in China.
BMW Group sales achieved their best ever March, with sales in the month totalling 254,862, a 5.9% increase year-on-year. It was also a record first quarter with sales of the BMW Group’s three premium brands, BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, increasing by 5.3%; a total of 587,237 vehicles have been delivered to customers around the world so far this year.
“We’ve achieved a strong start to the year, with our X-family models and the BMW 7 Series being the main growth drivers,” commented Dr Ian Robertson, Member of the BMW AG Board of Management with responsibility for Sales and Brand BMW. “March was the first full sales month for the new BMW 5 Series Sedan and the customer feedback for this benchmark car is already very positive,” he continued. “Our electrified models also continue to show extremely strong growth, with almost 20,000 sold in the first quarter, meaning we’re on track to achieve our target of 100,000 electrified vehicle sales this year. As we start the biggest model offensive the company has ever undertaken, I’m confident 2017 will be another record year for the BMW Group, retaining our leading position in the industry,” he added.
