graphic via Bimmerfest.com
BMW has released sales numbers through June of this year. BMW brand sales (not including Mini) are up 7.1 percent over the first six months of 2014. That’s a healthy increase, but a bit off the 9.8 percent growth BMW accomplished in 2014.
BMW and Mercedes are again wheel to wheel in the race to be the number one premium car brand in the U.S. Neither make had a very good month of June, but BMW leads Mercedes by 3,653 vehicles at the midway point of 2015. Audi and Lexus are also showing solid growth, with 2015 sales through June up 11 percent and 15 percent respectively.
Taking a look beyond the aggregate numbers, here are sales through June by model:
numbers courtesy of PRNewswire release
BMW light trucks continue to be critical to BMW’s success. They were up an incredible 75.3 percent June to June, and represent 29.3 percent of total 2015 BMW sales to date. (Trucks were 26 percent of total vehicle sales in 2014.) However, car sales are up 7.5 percent year to year, while trucks are up 6.4 percent. So the conversion of BMW into a light truck company continues but the pace has slowed for now, despite X5 sales being up almost 30 percent year to year.
The current F-10 5 Series is hurting this year, down 14.6 percent. That’s probably due to stronger competitive products and the fact that the current model has been out since 2010. After a very strong start in 2014, the micro SUV/hatchback X-1 has really fallen off, down 47.8 percent in 2015.
Those models are offset by strong 3 Series (now reported at 3 and 4 Series) sales which were up 16 percent from 2014, and are always the bread and butter car model for BMW. Sales of the 1/2 Series were also strong at 63.5 percent growth but with much lower volume. (BMW calls the coupe and convertible F20 version of the 1 Series the 2 Series in the U.S., and those are the only models sold here.)
The other big story is the electric i3 model. From negligible numbers in 2014 BMW had sold 4,456 of them to date in 2015. As charging stations gradually become more common in this country, it will be interesting to see if that growth can be sustained.
It looks to be another strong sales year for BMW NA, as long as the June to June dip proves an aberration. My neighbor has ordered a new BMW, and expects delivery this month. So I hope to soon share a personalized account of the BMW new car purchase experience.
EDIT 8/4 – Lexus was the top selling luxury brand in the U.S. for July.