BMW Reports July Sales: Electrified Demand Swells
BMW’s standout performer in July of 2018 was its hybrid lineup, which sold more than 30 percent better than in 2017.
On Monday, BMW announced its sales performance for July of 2018, which reveals that the automaker's best-ever year of hybrid and electric vehicle sales continued through last month.
Across all of BMW's automotive brands, year-to-date sales are up 1.6 percent, with only Mini suffering a 0.2 percent dip from 2017 performance. Global sales for electrified vehicles across the 'i,' 'iPerformance,' and Mini brands totaled 10,649 in the month of July, for a 30.9 percent jump from July of 2017 levels. Year-to-date sales numbered 71,310, or 40.6 percent higher than the 2017 volume reached by the end of July.
"Our focus on sustainable, profitable sales growth is proving successful, as we continue to attract more customers than ever, despite the various headwinds currently affecting the industry," stated Pieter Nota, board member for Sales and Brand, in the automaker's press release.
"The continuing, growing demand for our electrified vehicles is also very pleasing, with deliveries of BMW i, BMW iPerformance and Mini Electric vehicles up by over 40 percent in the year to date," he continued.
Back in May, BMW announced that its total electrified vehicle sales surpassed the quarter-million mark. Should electric vehicle sales maintain momentum through the next two months, BMW may also cross the 300,000 threshold by the end of September. It managed 100,000 electrified vehicle sales in 2017, achieving the milestone in December, while the 2018 pace sets in on track to manage the same by the end of October. Future 'i'-brand electrified crossovers will open up the possibility of significant further sales growth.
Europe-wide sales for July alone slipped 2.1 percent, dragged down by a 14 percent plunge in Germany and a 13 percent drop in the United Kingdom. Asia countered by rising 3.9 percent, and China's 7.8 percent rise means that it alone accounted for 72 percent of BMW's sales in Asia during July. Year-over-year performance for the Americas market was not reported, though sales in the U.S. fell 0.3 percent, and Latin America sales increased 7.2 percent.
