BMW Group posts fifth consecutive record sales in 2015

German luxury-car behemoth BMW AG has posted yet another year of record sales in 2015. The Group sold 2,247,485 BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles around the world last year, recording an increase of 6.1% on the previous year. However, December 2015 saw 213,537 BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles being sold with a drop in sales of 0.8% over the previous year.

 “In 2015, we launched a total of 15 new or refreshed models and our results show that these innovative new vehicles are popular with customers,” commented Dr Ian Robertson, member of the board of management of BMW AG responsible for global sales and marketing BMW, while speaking at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. “Our sales grew consistently throughout the year, despite headwinds in some markets. We expect many of those challenges to continue into 2016, so it’s important we continue to respond flexibly to market conditions in order to maintain our success,” he continued.

The Group’s flagship BMW brand also achieved a fifth consecutive annual sales record, with deliveries of 1,905,234 vehicles to customers in 2015, (+5.2% ), and maintained its leadership as world’s most sold luxury car brand. Mercedes-Benz and Audi took the second and the third spots with sales of 1,871,511 vehicles (+13.4%), and 1,803,250 vehicles (3.6%), respectively.

The brand’s sales for December, however, fell short of the previous year with a total of 176,681 BMW’s delivered to customers in the month (-0.7%).

Products throughout the BMW range achieved significantly higher sales in 2015, compared with the year before.  According to the carmaker its BMW 2 Series gained a lot of popularity with customers with total sales of 157,144 in the year.

Similarly, the BMW 4 Series also saw strong demand with sales rising by 27.4% to 152,390 units in 2015. Deliveries of the BMW X4 more than doubled to a total of 55,050 (+153.8%). Overall, the BMW X family continued to be a significant growth driver for the brand with sales of the BMW X5 up 14.1% to total 168,143 worldwide and deliveries of the BMW X6 increasing by over 50% to 46,305.

BMW’s hybrid ‘i series’ sales increased by 65.9% in 2015 with a total of 29,513 units delivered to customers. A total of 24,057 BMW i3s were handed over to customers around the world (+49.9%) while sales of the BMW i8 reached a total of 5,456.

Lifestyle brand Mini also achieved a new all-time annual sales record in 2015 with a total of 338,466 vehicles delivered to customers worldwide, an increase of 12.0% compared with the previous year. A total of 127,194 Mini 3 doors were sold around the world in 2015 (+0.2%) while 94,788 customers took delivery of a Mini 5 door. The new Mini Clubman, which went on sale in October, was delivered to 8,003 customers.

Peter Schwarzenbauer, BMW AG board member responsible for Mini, BMW Motorrad and Rolls-Royce commented: “We are delighted that our fresh new model range has achieved Mini’s best-ever sales result. The Mini 3 door is as popular as ever and the Mini 5 door has attracted many new customers to the brand. I am sure the new Mini Cabrio, due on the market in March, will provide further momentum going forward into 2016. Our success last year shows that the Mini is heading in the right direction.”

However, uber Luxury brand Rolls-Royce reported a dip of 6.8% in its sales in the year to 3,785 units, as the slowdown in China, the world’s largest luxury car market, weighed on overall sales.

Sales were driven by the success of Wraith and Ghost family cars in all regions, whilst Phantom remained the company’s flagship product. The new Rolls-Royce Dawn drophead was unveiled in September, breaking all previous records for pre-orders. First customer deliveries for the car are likely to take place in Q2 2016.

Region-Wise Sales

The BMW Group achieved an increase in deliveries in all major sales regions in 2015, in line with the company’s policy of striving for balanced sales around the world.

Almost one million BMWs and Minis were sold in Europe in 2015. The region was a significant growth driver with annual sales totalling 999,669 (+9.4%). Many markets in the region achieved double-digit sales growth in 2015 with deliveries in Great Britain, BMW Group’s fourth largest market, up 12.7% (230,652) whilst sales in France increased 15.0% (77,577). Southern European markets also continued recovering well with sales up 19.2% (45,550) in Spain and up 12.3% (71,173) in Italy.

The Americas region achieved a 2.8% increase in sales of BMW and MINI vehicles in 2015, with a total of 494,629 units delivered to customers in the region. In 2015, a total of 404,537 BMWs and MINIs were sold to customers in the USA (+2.2%) while sales in Canada climbed 10.1% to total 42,052 and Mexico achieved a sales increase of 17.3% (17,475).

In Asia, sales of BMW and Mini increased by 4.2% in 2015, with a total of 684,121 vehicles sold in the region. In 2015, a total of 463,736 BMW and MINIs were sold in Mainland China (+1.7%). In South Korea, 54,575 customers took delivery of a new BMW or Mini, an increase of 17.6%, while sales in Japan rose 8.1% to total 69,199.

BMW Motorrad—the Group’s two-wheeler brand—also sold considerably more motorcycles and maxi-scooters in 2015 than in the previous year. It was the fifth consecutive year that the BMW Group’s Motorrad segment achieved a new all-time high. With 136,963 vehicles delivered in 2015, BMW Motorrad achieved a growth of 10.9% on the previous year. In December, deliveries also increased to reach a new all-time high of 7,497 units and a growth of 6.6%.