Despite a strong fourth quarter, BMW sold 8.4 percent fewer cars in 2020 than in 2019. Sales of BMWs increased in Asia, but fewer cars left the showroom in Europe and America. Two extreme divisions within the brand showed considerable growth over the past year: BMW i and BMW M.
BMW’s total sales amounted to 2,324,809 cars in 2020. It is striking that it is precisely the two extremes within the Munich brand that are doing so well. 2020 was a record year for BMW M with 144,218 units sold. That is 5.9 percent more than in 2019. BMW Group Electrified, which includes the BMW i-label and the Mini Electric, saw sales even increase by 31.8 percent to 192,646 cars. That is also the main reason for the fact that BMW has met the European CO2 standard in the past year. The other divisions within BMW were all in the negative last year. The biggest blow was for Rolls-Royce: sales of the exclusive brand fell by no less than 26.4 percent. This is partly because the Ghost, the most successful model, only made its debut at the end of the year.
Asia is the only market where BMW achieved growth in the past year. Sales on the continent increased 6.1 percent to 984,515 cars, making it the largest market for BMW in 2020. With 777,379 delivered cars, China is responsible for the lion’s share of that. In Europe, BMW sales fell 15.7 percent to 912,621 cars. However, the US market was hit the hardest: the sales decline was 19.7 percent compared to 2019, bringing the total to 378,613 cars.
A year full of excitement
BMW is of course not idle. Particularly in the field of EVs, people are working hard in Munich. By 2023, BMW wants to have 25 models with some form of electrification in the showroom, of which ‘more than half are fully electric’. The starting shot for this was already given this year in the form of the iX, which production will start next year. In addition, BMW will also introduce the long-awaited i4 next year. It is very likely that BMW Group Electrified will only grow faster next year.