BMW of North America is having a strong sales year in 2012. The Year to Date (YTD) sales numbers are out and total sales of BMW cars and trucks (excluding Mini) are up 11.3 percent. Here’s all the detail from BMW Blog.
This chart details sales by BMW model:
Chart courtesy of BMW Blog
These numbers provided me two takeaways. The first is that BMW has a lot riding on the new F30 3 Series, which will be expanding its model line in July to include all wheel drive variants (xDrive in BMW speak) and a hybrid turbo/electric version. The 3 Series is always vital to BMW’s bottom line due to its volume.
But as you can see above, monthly 3 Series sales are down 26.4 percent comparing June 2011 to June 2012, and only up 6.6 percent year to year. Buyers seem to be waiting for the broader selection, and the 2 door couple won’t be available until next year. So the xDrive 3 Series will need to drive sales success for the second half of 2012.
The second takeaway is that slowly but surely BMW North America is becoming a truck company. The percentages show a steady increase of trucks in total BMW sales. It was 27.5 percent for 2011, 29 percent for 2012 YTD, and 34 percent for June 2012. That’s surprising considering that BMW didn’t offer a SUV (SAV in BMW speak) until the X5 was introduced in 2000, and the first X3 appeared in 2006. This momentum should continue when BMW brings the popular X1 here starting in the fall.
The U.S. car market is incredibly competitive, and BMW is understandably proud of its six month numbers. Sales of SAVs and the 3 Series will determine if 2013 finishes strong and becomes a banner year for BMW North America.