BMW electric car sales rose 23%, while Mercedes electric car sales fell 31%, but

Strong EV sales failed to stop BMW’s overall deliveries from falling, with China sales down 30% in the third quarter

Carmakers around the world are upset about falling electric car sales, but maybe they’re just making the wrong type of electric car, since BMW doesn’t seem to have any problems moving its battery cars. Sales of BMW-branded electric cars are up by more than a fifth so far.

The latest data released by the automaker this week showed that BMW’s electric vehicle sales increased by 22.6% between January and September 2024 compared with the same period in 2023. Expanding the scope to other BMW Group brands, including Mini and Rolls-Royce, the data showed a 19.1% increase in electric vehicle sales.

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Despite a slowdown in growth in the last three months, BMW Group’s electric vehicle deliveries still rose 10.1% in the third quarter, even as the decline in electric vehicle sales experienced by other parts of the industry is starting to show. For example, Mercedes’ electric vehicle sales fell 31% in the third quarter.

However, once again zooming out to look at overall sales across all powertrain types, the data shows BMW Group sales are down 4.5% year-to-date and down 13% in the third quarter. BMW brand cars have fared less poorly, with deliveries down 2.3% so far in 2024 and down 11.4% in the third quarter. Mercedes sales increased 1% to 503,600 units during the same period, surpassing BMW. of 487,000 vehicles.

BMW’s official explanation for the group’s decline in performance from January to September was production halts to deal with defective integrated brake system components and “difficult” market conditions in China. The brake issues have been resolved, but things aren’t going to get easier in China anytime soon as domestic automakers become more competitive and eat into Western brands’ market share.

BMW Group Sales

BMW (and Mini) sales in the U.S. are down 2.1% year-to-date and down 9.2% in the third quarter, while sales in Europe are up 1.4% year-to-date after falling just 1% in the third quarter. But Chinese drivers bought 13.1% fewer BMWs in the first nine months of 2024, with third-quarter registrations down a staggering 29.8%, while Mercedes-Benz fell just 1%.

Compared to the company’s other combustion-engined cars, the sporty BMW M cars are relatively light on the road. Its sales are up 2% year-to-date and down 3.9% in the third quarter. Rolls-Royce is definitely feeling the heat in China and can only dream of such positive figures. Its sales are down 12.8% so far this year and 16.2% in the third quarter. Hopefully the arrival of the facelifted Ghost will help us move in another direction.

Mini was also hit hard, with deliveries falling 20.9% from January to September and 25.2% in the third quarter, although much of this can be blamed on the brand replacing its entire model range. Or at least that’s what the mini-boss hopes.

Sales volume of BMW Group by region