Last month BMW 2021 Q1 sales were announced coming out of the pandemic year of 2020. The numbers told a positive story, with sales in North America up 20.1 percent and global sales up 33.5 percent to an all time high of over 636,000 vehicles.
However, sales of BMW’s competitors in the NA market were also up strongly. Mercedes-Benz sales were up 19.5 percent, and they sold the most luxury vehicles with 89,915. Lexus was up almost 32 percent with 74,253, and Tesla sold an estimated 66,000 vehicles, up 25 percent. (The number is an industry estimate since Tesla does not release numbers by market.) Clearly chip shortages and supply issues weren’t slowing down luxury car buying.
Truck sales were ahead of car sales in Q1, just by a hair at 50.6 percent. BMW trucks were up 25.3 percent while cars were up 15.3. G30 5-Series sales were up 19.2 percent, which might suggest the Lifecycle Impulse (LCI) tweaks made to the model are paying off. The G01 X3 crossover continues to be the best selling BMW in the NA market, up 41.2 percent to 14,988 sold. 3-Series and 4-Series sales seem to have stabilized but were still down from Q4 2020, which admittedly was a huge quarter for BMW.
Looking globally China continued to represent a larger and larger share of BMW’s market. From Statista.com:
Understanding this market shift and viewing the gains of BMW’s competitors made me think of a conversation sparked in February. Doug DeMuro, automotive YouTuber and founder of Cars & Bids, put out a video that was much discussed by enthusiasts. Doug posits that BMW’s brand has suffered badly over the past 20 years and this has resulted in some strange marketing decisions by the company lately:
Time savers:
- 1:20 BMW had a legendary lineup around 2001 (of course I agree there)!
- 2:30 – strange, antagonistic Tweets in reaction to design criticism
- 5:15 – Tesla is the new cool car company
- 8:00 – BMW grew market greatly by moving beyond enthusiasts to mainstream – until now?
- 10:20 – BMW is no longer an aspirational brand
- 12:00 – Can BMW lose both enthusiasts and mainstream buyers?
To those points I’d add a question – is this market truly vital for BMW? With China representing a bigger market share than NA and Europe combined, that’s where BMW’s future prosperity lies. I’ve been watching this happen since 2011, back when China was #3 and coming up fast behind the U.S. and Germany for BMW market sales. It’s why BMW Group can have a record year globally yet have growth lag behind competitors here.
BMW’s famous tagline – “The Ultimate Driving Machine” – dates back to 1975. Back then the company was marketing to enthusiasts. BMW has never updated that brand promise, although in fairness they tried to in 2010 with the “Joy of Driving” campaign. The response was negative and the company quickly doubled down on the ultimate driving machine, which most would admit only the M division delivers today (sometimes).
Right now these issues are an insider baseball type conversation. BMW 2021 Q1 sales growth of 20 percent isn’t bad. But context is everything. If Tesla and Lexus sales pass BMW in NA, or if BMW decides to discontinue a major car model due to falling sales, I can see this conversation going mainstream.
BMW ain’t what it used to be. But times change and it’ll likely get stranger from here. At least for those of us who are enthusiasts. Some argue that the X7 was designed with a focus Chinese market. I think BMW Group will continue to chase volume and profitability but I wonder what having a BMW will mean to people buying luxury cars in the next 15 years.
Hey Chris,
Been enjoying your posts for years and still loving it! I couldn’t agree with you and Doug more regarding the downfall of BMW as an aspiration brand over the past 20 years. Speaking as a car enthusiast without much business insight, I’m saddened to have to agree that BMW has lost its way. Business may be booming, but the inspiration just isn’t there any longer.
My ten-year-long love affair with bimmers started with an E36 328, through a Gen 1 X5, a Gen 2 X3 manual, an E46 M3 but ended sadly with a Gen 3 X3 in 2016 when it was clear that it’s time to move on. It was a glorious period that coincides with the pinnacle period that you Doug identified, around 2001. In spite of the expanded lineup, after the Gen 3 X3 I just could not bring myself to get into one of them without feeling that I was missing the boat on some of the great new vehicles that posed serious threats to BMW’s status as the Ultimate Driving Machine.
Perhaps someday I will find a gently used E90/92/E93 M3 with that glorious S65 motor for a good price. That would close the chapter with a permanent smile on my face!
All the best,
Wally