Five years after its initial launch, customer demand for the BMW i models continues to grow at such a rate that production in Plant Leipzig will be increased by over 50% this autumn, to 200 cars a day.
In the first five months of the year, sales of BMW i, BMW iPerformance and MINI Electric vehicles jumped 41.0% to total 46,849. The growing trend towards electrification continues globally, with several significant markets reporting especially strong development.
For example, electrified vehicles accounted for nearly 7% of all BMW and MINI models sold in the USA in the first five months of the year (9,762 / +61.0%) and more than 7% of BMW and MINI sales in the UK (6,555 / +34.2%).
In some markets, electrified vehicles already account for more than half of all BMW and MINI sales. Examples here are Norway (4,125 / +5.8%) and Malaysia (2,313 / +37.9%).
The BMW Group offer nine electrified vehicles in its portfolio including BMW 5 Series, the MINI Cooper S E Countryman plug-in hybrid, 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.
The BMW Group remains well on target to achieve its stated aim of selling over 140,000 electrified vehicles in 2018.
The BMW Group has sold more vehicles than ever before in the first five months of the year: more than a million customers worldwide have already taken delivery of their new BMW, MINI or Rolls-Royce vehicle in 2018 (1,003,573 / +1.6%).
This record result was achieved despite the ongoing global ramp-up of BMW X3 production and volatility in China due to changes in import duties. These factors contributed to a slight decrease in the company’s monthly sales in May (204,041 / -2.1%).
“To have sold over a million cars by this point in the year is a real milestone,” said Pieter Nota, BMW AG Management Board member responsible for Sales and Brand BMW.
“We’re particularly pleased to see that our X vehicles are more popular with our customers than ever, with record sales figures despite the lack of X3 availability in China. In the second half of the year, the X3 will once again become fully available worldwide, bringing increased sales momentum in the third and fourth quarters. Meanwhile, sales of our electrified vehicles are growing really strongly, with customer deliveries up by over 40%.”
