---
title: "BMW Sales Spike Despite Big Grilles, Strange Marketing, and Pandemic"
description: "The German automaker is suffering from success."
date: "2021-04-12"
modified: "2021-04-12"
authors:
  - name: "Peter Holderith"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/peter-holderith"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/40146/bmw-sales-spike-despite-big-grilles-strange-marketing-and-pandemic"
categories:
  - "BMW News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "BMW"
---

# BMW Sales Spike Despite Big Grilles, Strange Marketing, and Pandemic

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2020/06/https-api.thedrive.com-wp-content-uploads-2020-06-20200602-BMW-4-Series-Coupe-Hero.jpgquality85.jpeg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

It's no secret that BMW is acting a little...unusual these days. The company's [new 4 Series](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/36611/the-2021-bmw-m3-and-m4-better-be-amazing-to-drive-because-damn>) and iX are rather [*distinctive* in their appearance](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/37551/bmw-ix-a-300-mile-electric-suv-with-a-futuristic-interior-and-500-horsepower>), its marketing is sometimes [rude and off-color](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/37673/bmw-pushes-weirdly-hostile-marketing-campaign-to-say-youre-dumb-for-thinking-the-ix-is-ugly>), and its [electrification strategy seems slow](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/27083/bmw-claims-it-will-launch-at-least-12-new-evs-and-12-plug-in-hybrids-by-2025>) despite getting an early head start with the i3 and i8.

But despite all of these things—and a raging global pandemic, in case anybody missed that—BMW's overall sales are strong. Year over year, the brand's sales [have risen 20.1 percent in Q1,](<https://www.bmwusanews.com/newsrelease.do?id=3711&mid=>) and that's not even mentioning [Mini,](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/31853/2020-mini-cooper-se-electric-first-drive-review-blast-from-the-recent-past>) who also had a successful first quarter with a 20 percent gain. However, there are a few interesting points in the report besides the overall sales increase.

![message-editor%2F1618254060230-inlinea.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1618254060230-inlinea.jpg>)
**BMW**

For instance, if you haven't seen many new Z4s lately, it's because the brand is barely selling any, a problem that has gotten worse in 2021. After selling just 625 examples in the first quarter of last year, that figure dropped 68.8 percent to 195 units in Q1 2021. [Compare this to the car's platform partner, the Toyota Supra,](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/28843/watch-how-the-2020-toyota-supra-compares-to-its-bmw-z4-sibling-in-an-all-out-drag-race>) and things look even grimmer. Despite being more-or-less the same car underneath, [Toyota's Supra](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/33450/2021-toyota-supra-2-0-review-a-promising-four-cylinder-weapon-that-lacks-an-edge>) sold 828 units in the month of March alone.

Despite slow sales for some models, though—the 3 Series and 8 Series were down around 11 percent as well—the overall picture was a sparkly one. BMW's light trucks, with the exception of the X4, were all up, as the X3 led the charge with the most sales at 14,988 units and a 41.2 percent increase YoY. Surprisingly, the success wasn't all thanks to trucks—quite the contrary, actually.

BMW's large sedans like the 5 and 7 Series did well, with a 19.2 and 13.9 percent gain in Q1, respectively. The big surprise was from BMW's smallest and arguably most enthusiast-geared offering, [the 2 Series.](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/38549/heres-the-v10-dubbed-m2-clip-bmw-released-and-tried-to-erase-from-the-internet>) Sales increased an enormous 199.5 percent year over year, with the humble 2 outselling the largest vehicle BMW makes, the X7, and Mr. Big Sniffer himself, [the 4 Series.](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/33782/this-is-the-2021-bmw-4-series-massive-grille-and-all-report>)

![message-editor%2F1618257705970-inlineb.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1618257705970-inlineb.jpg>)
**BMW**

Does this mean BMW is going to re-evaluate its entire sales strategy? Definitely not. Although sales of the 2 Series were strong, [the X7](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/27101/2019-bmw-x7-first-drive-review>) is far more profitable, so don't expect the SUV craze to wear off anytime soon. It is, in any case, nice to see the soon-to-be-replaced F22 2 Series getting a little time in the sun. Hopefully its next generation, like BMW's 2021 Q1 sales, will be more than encouraging.

*Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here**: peter@thedrive.com*

## Author
Peter Holderith is a former staff writer for The Drive. He enjoys covering the regular news cycle, writing reviews, and hunting down long features on obscure pieces of automotive history.

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-h-5ba447192/>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/_baldtires>)