The BMW Group sold more than 140,000 electrified (battery-electric and plug-in hybrid) vehicles in 2018, thereby confirming its leading role in the field of electromobility. In total, 142,617 (+38.4%) electrified BMW and MINI vehicles were delivered to customers around the world last year.
“Since launching the BMW i3 in 2013, the BMW Group has rapidly grown its sales of electrified vehicles. With over 140,000 delivered in 2018, we have once again achieved our ambitious target,” said Harald Kruger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. “This great sales result and our impressive market share proves our vehicles are what the customer wants. In countries which offer appropriate infrastructure and regulatory support, we see how quickly electromobility can become the norm. I’m confident that by the end of this year, there will be a total of half a million electrified BMW Group vehicles on the roads, with much more to come as we continue to extend our model line-up over the next few years,” Kruger continued.
Europe is BMW’s biggest sales region for battery and plug-in hybrid vehicles, accounting for over 50 per cent of sales in 2018. With 75,000 electrified vehicles delivered to customers in Europe last year, the BMW Group is the clear market leader in the region, with over 16 per cent market share. In the company’s home market, Germany, the BMW Group accounts for one in five electrified vehicles sold last year. Globally, the BMW Group’s market share is over 9 per cent. The company’s biggest single market for electrified vehicles is the USA, where over 25,000 electrified BMW and MINI vehicles were sold in 2018, accounting for more than 7 per cent of the BMW Group’s overall sales in that country. The BMW 530e was the year’s biggest-selling luxury plug-in hybrid in the USA. Electrified vehicles accounted for 6 per cent of total BMW and MINI sales in 2018, compared with 4 per cent in 2017.
Electromobility is an essential pillar of the BMW Group’s corporate strategy Number ONE>NEXT and one of the company’s four key future-focused ACES topics (Autonomous, Connected, Electrified and Services/Shared). Having announced record spending on R&D in 2018, Harald Kruger confirmed, “We are implementing our strategy rigorously and investing extensively in the technologies of the future; expanding our leading role in electric mobility is a clear focus. 2018 was a significant year in this regard, with the announcement of major new strategic co-operations as well as the unveiling of several key new models,” Kruger said.
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