The BMW Group achieved its best-ever May in terms of sales with a total of 198,354 vehicles sold worldwide, an increase of 5.3% on the same month last year.

The growth means the company’s sales in the year-to-date are 5% higher than at the same point in the year in 2015, with a total of 935,288 vehicles sold globally so far this year.

Commenting on the sales, Dr Ian Robertson, member of the board of management of BMW AG responsible for Sales and Marketing said, “Our sales continue to show sustainable growth, well in line with our expectations. Our target is to ensure profitable growth in sales and thanks to our attractive model line-up, that’s what we are achieving,” he continued.

Sales of the BMW brand vehicles totalled 168,129 in May, an increase of 5.6% year-on-year (YoY). In the year-to-date, sales increased by 5% with a total of 797,457 vehicles sold. May also saw strong growth in the sales of models such as the BMW 2 Series (16,823 / +47.6%), the BMW X1 (13,884 / +47.8%), the BMW X4 (4,947 / +13.0%) and the BMW 7 Series (4,539 / +32.4%).

Meanwhile sales of the brand’s recently introduced plug-in hybrid models continued to grow, especially in markets which actively encourage customers to purchase an electric vehicles. For example, the BMW 330e iPerformance went on sale in Europe in March and already in May, almost every eighth BMW 3 Series sold in the UK and more than a quarter of all BMW 3 Series sold in the Netherlands was a plug-in hybrid version.

Further, Mini sales also grew in May with a total of 29,864 vehicles sold globally, up 3.6% YoY. The year-to-date sales increased 5.2% to 136,617 units. The brand’s main growth drivers in May were the Convertible (3,604 / +116.7%) and Clubman models, which sold 4,681 units.

BMW market sales

In Europe, combined monthly sales of BMW and Mini totalled 91,347 units in May, up 11.9% YoY. Sales in the home market Germany increased 14.3% (21,829), while a total of 7,218 Mini and BMW vehicles were sold in France (+12.3%). Sales in Italy numbered 7,005 units, up 16% YoY. The overall year-to-date sales for BMW and Mini in Europe amounted to 432,545 units, an increase of 10.3%.

Asia also saw steady growth in BMW and Mini sales last month with a total of 58,725 vehicles sold in May (+6.3%). The region’s biggest market, Mainland China, achieved a 7.1% increase compared to the same month last year, with a total of 40,123 vehicles sold. Monthly sales in South Korea grew 14.4%, with a total of 5,250 vehicles sold, while sales in Japan increased 5.2% to total 5,264 in the month. In the first five months of the year, a total of 293,188 BMW and Mini vehicles were sold in Asia, an increase of 6.2% compared to the same period last year.

On the other hand, sales in the Americas decreased 7.3% in May compared with the same month last year, with a total of 42,066 vehicles sold in the region. May sales in the USA were down 8.8% (33,612) as the year-to-date sales of BMW and Mini vehicles in the Americas region total 180,099 which is down 7.9% compared with the same period last year.

Sales continue to grow at BMW Motorrad where May saw a total of 15,180 motorcycles and maxi-scooters sold, an increase of 1.2% YoY. The year-to-date figures show an increase of 4.5% (65,761).

Also read: BMW Group sells 179,285 vehicles in April, up 1.9% YoY