Global BMW EV sales more than double again
New M3 Touring in 'very high demand' - but it's all-electric cars on the inevitable rise
News that the BMW Group is selling more electric cars globally might be a revelation roughly equivalent to ‘water wet’, yet it is notable how quickly the trend is now taking hold - even in a first quarter that went very slightly backward in terms of overall deliveries. Between them, BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce fulfilled 588,138 customer orders in the first three months of this year, a 1.5 per cent fall mostly attributed to the impact that covid is still having in China. Of that number, 64,646 vehicles were fully electric, an 83 per cent increase. BMW alone contributed 55,979 units, more than doubling its BEV sales versus last year.
Bung plug-in hybrids into the mix, and the number swells to 110,486 overall. “Our strong product lineup continues to inspire our customers worldwide. Our fully-electric vehicles, in particular, are benefiting from high demand around the globe. We were therefore able to maintain the dynamic pace of our electromobility ramp-up in the first quarter,” said Pieter Nota, member of the BMW AG board responsible for Customer, Brands, Sales. The manufacturer reckons that the new i7 and 7 Series, plus the updated X7 and BMW XM will be among the main growth drivers in 2023.
Ah, the XM. Or as BMW heralds it, ‘another important milestone for BMW M on the road to an electrified future’. With the market launch of the M2 Coupe (the division's last combustion-only model) upon us, the introduction of the first electrified ‘High Performance’ model is obviously significant to the brand. Although it is notable that even in a quarter where M GmbH shifted 46,430 cars (a 19 per cent improvement on 2022), it is the i4 M50 - the all-electric ‘M Performance’ derivative that instantly became a best-seller last year - that's still attributed as the main growth driver. A halo-wearing Goliath the XM may very well be, but it’ll likely end up a sales minnow compared with the battery-electric saloon already in hot demand and suggests the ground is already plenty firm enough for the four-motor EV that BMW M began previewing last year.
Elsewhere it acknowledges the success of the new M3 Touring, a car that launched to almost universal approval despite concerns about its styling. BMW doesn’t go into sufficient detail to tell us the breakdown between specific models, but we’d be willing to bet that the first-of-its-kind wagon now makes up a sizeable proportion of continuing M3 and M4 sales that are said to make ‘a key contribution’ to a successful quarter. Looking ahead, the manufacturer reckons that updates to the X5 and X6 M will pay dividends, alongside the ‘highly emotional’ M2 that rounds out the current High Performance portfolio.
tty diesels that haven't been bought by dullards just wanting a badge to move around with them during their full existence. 
Meanwhile, where it actually matters in terms of cars for folk who like cars, they've been flogging a few mid sized estates with stupid petrol engines in them.
The time to be sad isn't when dullards stop buying diesels for the tax benefits and start buying the next big tax benefit but when fools stop being able to buy pointless, stinky petrol cars with engines far too large to ever be necessary. But then all those silly, petrol M cars will be wafting around the used market for folk to enjoy.
I had a look on my scheme and it's around £1000/pm for an iX (or for a Taycan). An MG4 is £300/m
tty diesels that haven't been bought by dullards just wanting a badge to move around with them during their full existence. Meanwhile, where it actually matters in terms of cars for folk who like cars, they've been flogging a few mid sized estates with stupid petrol engines in them.
The time to be sad isn't when dullards stop buying diesels for the tax benefits and start buying the next big tax benefit but when fools stop being able to buy pointless, stinky petrol cars with engines far too large to ever be necessary. But then all those silly, petrol M cars will be wafting around the used market for folk to enjoy.
I could be talked into an i4 M50 if it was offered as a company perk, but if I was paying for it myself I'd go for one of the petrol ones, as I don't mind spending more in running costs on something more fun.
Nevertheless it's a lot of cars that'll enter the used market in a few years. Will there be sufficient demand for second-hand BEVs by then? If not, their true residual values might look very weak.
Nevertheless it's a lot of cars that'll enter the used market in a few years. Will there be sufficient demand for second-hand BEVs by then? If not, their true residual values might look very weak.
Nevertheless it's a lot of cars that'll enter the used market in a few years. Will there be sufficient demand for second-hand BEVs by then? If not, their true residual values might look very weak.
Come 2025, BMW have got their new generation of EVs being launched. Who wants old hat tech from 2022 when you can have the latest and greatest EVs from 2025?
s off the beards on this forum.Time to move on to 'must love EVs to rid ourselves of s
tty piston-engined cars'.s off the beards on this forum.Time to move on to 'must love EVs to rid ourselves of s
tty piston-engined cars'.s off the beards on this forum.Time to move on to 'must love EVs to rid ourselves of s
tty piston-engined cars'.s off the beards on this forum.Time to move on to 'must love EVs to rid ourselves of s
tty piston-engined cars'.s off the beards on this forum.Time to move on to 'must love EVs to rid ourselves of s
tty piston-engined cars'.What aspect of the mainly god-awful 10 million diesel s
tboxes on the road would you like to preserve?Because I'm pretty sure it's not the noise, vibration, noxious emissions or general lack of driving pleasure.
Generally poorly-maintained ageing diesels are screwing it up for everyone, and EVs offer a new dawn as to how to move people and stuff form A to B with the least amount of energy and harm, if the point of the journey is simply that.
And yes I know the batteries kill some kittens and children, but I'd say I'm pretty well-informed, and I'm happy that they kill quite a lot fewer per car than diesels.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff