Overall, the motorcycle industry took a hit in the form of a 3.2 percent sales decrease. The story at BMW Motorrad, however, is quite different. The premium German motorcycle brand had its best year ever for the seventh year in a row with a huge 13.2 percent increase in global sales in 2017 bringing its total annual deliveries up to 164,153.
“The 2017 sales figures once again show that our motorcycle strategy is taking effect. And we have a great deal planned for the coming years,” said BMW Motorrad General Director Stephan Schaller in a press release. “We will continue to consistently pursue our current model initiative in the premium segment. We will expand our product range with emotional and innovative new products in 2018, too. The new middle class GS models are already underway and further great products will follow. BMW Motorrad is looking into the future with great confidence.”
A big part of BMW Motorrad’s new growth happened in Europe with the brand’s home continent seeing a boost of 15 percent over 2016. Growth was especially big in France, up 24.3 percent, in Italy up 17.3 percent, and in Spain up 17.6 percent. Not surprisingly, Germany is still BMW Motorrad’s biggest market where it saw 7.1 percent growth in 2017 accounting for 16.2 percent of the brand’s global sales.
The big sellers for BMW Motorrad are the GS line of adventure bikes and the sporty S Series. New smaller displacement models such as the G 310 R and G 310 GS are doing well not only in their target markets of Asia and South America but also in Europe where the little bikes are popular with new riders.
So, can BMW Motorrad continue the impressive sales streak in 2018 towards its goal of selling 200,000 motorcycles in 2020? “We expect to see further growth in sales for our vehicles in 2018, too,” says BMW Motorrad Head of Sales and Marketing Timo Resch in the release. “We are looking forward to the positive impulses generated by the launch of the completely new F models F 750 GS and F 850 GS as well as the much anticipated C 400 X midsize scooter. Expanding our urban mobility product range is a key topic for the future of BMW Motorrad.”