BMW Group has reported its global sales for 2020, and although the tally is down 8.4 per cent on 2019, the outlook looks good judging by the last quarter of the year.
The group, which includes MINI and Roll-Royce brands, shifted 2,324,809 vehicles around the world in 2020. That’s down 8.4 per cent. However, of those, 686,069 units were during the fourth quarter alone. That’s an increase of 3.2 per cent on the same period the year prior.
Out of the total yearly figure, the BMW brand contributed 2,028,659 units, down 7.2 per cent. Sales of the brand’s upper-end models actually saw growth, despite the coronavirus pandemic, with 7 and 8 Series models, and the X7 making up 115,420 of those units (up 12.4 per cent on 2019).
BMW M reported its most successful year ever in 2020. Even though there were more models in the showroom than ever before, the motorsport-inspired division contributed 144,218 units. That’s up 5.9 per cent on 2019, resulting in the highest figure ever for the sub-brand. It says a range of new SUVs helped to achieve the milestone, such as the new X6 M50i.
Interestingly, sales of electrified models within the overall group grew 31.8 per cent in 2020 over 2019, with 192,646 units. Fully electric vehicle sales also grew by 13 per cent. The group expanded its electrified range (hybrid and electric) to 13 models in 2020, however, the company plans to be offering 25 models with either hybrid or electric powertrains by 2023.
As for the most popular market regions, that went to Asia. The group shipped 984,515 vehicles in 2020, and of those, 777,379 were in China (up 7.4 per cent on 2019). China is the biggest single market region for BMW and MINI sales. The USA contributed 306,870 units (down 18 per cent), and Germany made up 287,143 sales (down 13.4 per cent).
Here in Australia, locals purchased 23,520 BMW brand vehicles, up 0.9 per cent on 2019. The most popular model was the X3 mid-size SUV, with 4360 units (down 4.9 per cent), followed by the 3 Series with 3406 units (up 8.6 per cent).
