BMW’s Hybrid, Electric Vehicle Sales Are Boiling Over
Electric and hybrid vehicle demand is exploding the world over, and BMW’s bottom line benefits.
BMW announced via a press release Tuesday that its combined electrified vehicle sales have passed the 250,000 mark, and only show signs of further acceleration.
"We are delighted to announce that there are now over a quarter of a million electrified BMW Group vehicles on the world’s roads," stated BMW board member Pieter Nota, who cites a significant sales boost for 2018 as what propelled BMW past this milestone.
"Combined sales of BMW i, BMW iPerformance, and Mini Electric vehicles were up 52 percent in April [to 9,831], bringing the total number of electrified BMW Group cars sold to over 250,000," Nota revealed. "We are well on track to deliver on our stated target to sell over 140,000 electrified vehicles this year."
In the first third of 2018, BMW's electric and hybrid vehicle sales tallied 36,692, an increase of 41.7 percent. This growth was driven by a 73.3 percent year-over-year increase in the United States, which has bought 7,716 electrified BMWs this year. An exponential increase in China sales volume, where the 5-Series plug-in hybrid pushed sales up 646.7 percent, added 3,181 to BMW's running count.
April saw global hybrid and electric vehicles account for just 5 percent of annual sales volume, but in key markets, that share is significantly higher. It sits at 7.3 percent in the United States, nine percent in the United Kingdom, and over 25 in the Scandinavia region. In Malaysia, more than half of BMWs sold in April came paired with electric power.
Brand sales as a whole are up from record 2017 levels, putting BMW on track to beat its own high score come end of 2018.
