BMW has claimed the leading sales position in the premium segment after achieving record global sales results in 2021.

BMW Group (BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce) has rocked the sales charts in 2021 with a total of 2 521 525 units delivered resulting in 8.4% year-on-year sales growth. BMW alone delivered 2 213 795 units to customers, representing year-on-year growth of 9.1%, making the Bavarian firm the sales leader in the global premium segment.

But that’s not all. BMW has been forging ahead with its electrification strategy and for 2021, BMW reports that electric sales more than doubled to 103 855 units! More so, BMW is optimistic about its sales prospects in 2022 and the firm will aim to further expand on its EV success and will look to more than double EV sales in 2022.

“Despite supply bottlenecks and the continuing coronavirus pandemic: We achieved a strong sales performance in 2021, thanks to a powerful operational performance and stellar product line-up. Our brands reported numerous all-time best sales results around the globe – spearheaded by the BMW brand, which is number one in the global premium segment. With more than 100,000 fully-electric vehicles sold last year, ramping up electromobility was our clear focus” said Pieter Nota, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Customer, Brands, Sales.

It’s worthwhile noting that 13% (37 939 units) of BMW and Mini vehicles sold worldwide in 2021 were EVs. In Europe alone, BMW and Mini achieved 23% (225 415 unite) EV sales.

The BMW iX3 achieved 37 939 worldwide sales while the BMW i3’s sales performance grew by 5.4% with 28 216 units delivered to customers. The Mini Electric also posted impressive results with global sales of 34 851 units.

Late in 2021 BMW launched the iX and the i4 and in 2022 the firm will welcome all-electric version of the 7 Series and X1 while a high volume electric 5 Series is expected in 2023. Over the next 10 years, BMW aims to sell roughly 10 million EVs!

Rolls-Royce will be an all-electric brand by 2030 and so will Mini.

Rolls-Royce posted its highest ever sales result in 2021 with a 48.7% year-on-year increase with 5 586 units delivered worldwide. The Ghost, Cullinan and all Black Badge derivatives proved to be hugely popular in China, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region. The first all-electric Rolls-Royce Spectre is due for market introduction in Q4 2023.

BMW M Also Posts Record Sales

BMW’s M performance arm also reported all-time global record sales results with 163 542 M vehicles reaching customers in 2021 and representing an increase of 13.4%. The new BMW M3 and M4 were standout performers while sales of the X5 M and X6 M also boomed. The X3 M40i and X7 M50i also proved popular as did the 4 Series Coupe. In 2022, BMW expects the iX M60 and the i4 M50 to make positive sales contributions.

BMW EVs for SA in 2022

BMW will be introducing the iX3 SUV and i4 sedan in South Africa in the second quarter of 2022.

The iX3 is essentially an electrified version of the firm’s popular X3 SUV. Powering the 2022 BMW iX3 is an electric motor that’s packaged with the gearbox and electronics in one single housing. Outputs are rated at 210 kW and 400 Nm, and BMW says its updated iX3 is good for a 0-100 kph of just 6.8 seconds. Power consumption is said to be 18.9 – 18.5 kWh/100 km and the vehicle has a range of 460 km based on the WLTP cycle. Fast-charging is available and a 10-minute charge from a 150 kW charger will give you around 100 km of range.

As for the i4 eDrive40 sedan, it will offer 250 Nm and 430 Nm with a claimed range of around 483 km using an 83.9 kWh battery and a zero to 100 kph sprint time of about 5.9 seconds. There is a possibility that BMW will offer an i4 M50 derivative with at least 400 kW and a zero to 100kph sprint capability of 3.9 seconds but with a reduced range of 394 km.

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