BMW Group reaches 2.3 million sales in 2020 across three brands; PHEV model sales up 38.9% from 2019

The BMW Group has announced its full-year sales figures from 2020, with 2,324,809 vehicles delivered last year across its BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands. This was a drop of 8.4% compared to 2019, though its Q4 2020 performance of 686,069 vehicles represented a 3.2% increase year-on-year.

BMW claims to continue to lead the premium segment in global sales volume, though if based on the number for the BMW brand alone, it sold 2,028,659 vehicles last year (down 7.2% from 2020), which pegs its behind compatriot Mercedes-Benz which sold 2,164,187 vehicles last year, when comparing BMW- and Mercedes-Benz-branded vehicles, and does not include MINI, Rolls-Royce or Mercedes-Benz commercial vans.

Electrified models accounted for 192,646 units in 2020 across BMW and MINI brands, making for a gain of 31.8% over 2019. Fully electric vehicles gained 13% in 2020, while plug-in hybrid vehicles saw an increase of 38.9% last year across the group’s brands. In Europe, electrified models account for 15% of all models sold, says BMW.

The upper luxury segment within the BMW brand’s range saw a 12.4% gain in 2020, with 115,420 units sold across the 7 Series, 8 Series and X7 model lines. These have seen an increase in sales of more than 70% overall since 2018, said the company.

Speaking of luxury, the Rolls-Royce brand sold 3,756 units in 2020, representing a drop of 26.4% compared to 2019. This was attributed to the departure of the Ghost from its roster, and has been succeeded by the 2021 model with all-new aluminium architecture that it shares with the Phantom and Cullinan. Orders for the new Ghost have queued into Q2 2021, says BMW, bolstered by the EWB version that made its debut last September.

BMW M saw a gain of 6% to record sales of 144,218 units in 2020, charting its best-ever sales performance in the brand’s history despite the current industry climate. This was attributed to the performance models in the X range of SAVs, while the G80 BMW and G82 BMW M4 made their world debuts last September ahead of their sales launches in the first quarter of this year.

In the market for compact vehicles, the MINI brand sold 292,394 units in 2020, or 15.8% down from the preceding year. Of these, 17,580 units were of the MINI Electric pure EVs, while the high-performance John Cooper Works range saw a 20.8% gain to 20,565 units sold in 2020.

Going by region, the BMW group saw a 7.4% sales gain in China, of which 777,379 units were BMW and MINI vehicles delivered. This is the group’s best-ever sales performance in China since entering the market in 1994, it said. The group recorded sales of 306,870 units in the United States market last year, representing an 18% drop, which was also attributed to market adversity due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It fared better in South Korea, its fifth-largest market, where it charted sales of 69,872 units last year for a gain of 30.5% compared to 2019. Meanwhile in Europe, BMW and MINI sales saw a collective drop of almost 16% in 2020 due to retail restrictions; its home market of Germany experienced a drop of 13.3%.

In the two-wheeler realm, BMW Motorrad sold 169,272 units in 2020, the second-best achievement in its history, the group said. Its achievement was bolstered by the launch of 13 models over the past year, it said. These included the World Superbike homologation special M1000RR, along with commemorative editions of the R 1250 GS and GS Adventure models.

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