In 2021, the BMW Group delivered 2.52 million BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles to customers worldwide, representing an increase of 8.4% year-on-year. Among them, bmw brand sales hit a record high, reaching 2.21 million units, an increase of 9.1% year-on-year, becoming a leading brand in the global high-end car market. In addition, the BMW Group's sales of pure electric vehicles increased by 133.2% year-on-year to 103,000 units.
(Image source: BMW)
Pieter Nota, a member of the BMW Group's Management Committee responsible for customers, brands and sales, said: "Despite the supply bottlenecks and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we achieved strong sales performance in 2021 due to strong operational performance and an excellent product lineup. Our brands have achieved record sales performance worldwide, led by the BMW brand, which ranks first in the global high-end market. Nota also said, "Last year, we sold more than 100,000 pure electric vehicles, and increasing electric vehicle sales is our clear goal." ”
In 2021, global sales of the BMW brand increased by 9.1% year-on-year to 2,213,795 units. Thanks to the new and attractive product lineup, BMW brand sales reached record highs. Last year, the MINI brand delivered 302,144 vehicles to customers, up 3.3% year-over-year. Of these, about 17 percent of sales came from electric vehicles; more than one in ten MINI customers opted for the MINI electric model: the MINI Cooper SE, which sold 34,851 units. The MINI Electric is the highest-selling model of the MINI brand, with global sales up 98.2% year-on-year in 2021, becoming the growth driver of the brand.
In 2021, the BMW Group's offensive will be dominated by electric vehicles, and in the total global sales of the BMW brand and THE MINI brand, electric vehicles (including pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles) account for 13%, and sales reach 328,316 units, an increase of 70.4% year-on-year. Among them, BMW brand and MINI brand electric vehicle sales have accounted for more than 23% of their total Sales in Europe, to 225,415 units.
In 2021, BMW iX3s will sell 37,939 units worldwide, and about one-tenth of the BMW X3s delivered to customers worldwide will be pure electric vehicles. During the same period, one-third of customers worldwide who purchased the MINI 3 opted for an all-electric version (about 34,851 units). At the same time, sales of the BMW i3, the world's only high-end compact pure electric vehicle, continued to grow for the ninth consecutive year, with sales reaching 28,216 units, an increase of 5.4% year-on-year.
At the end of last year, the BMW Group launched two key innovative flagship models – the BMW iX and the BMW i4. In 2022, the company will further expand its electric vehicle lineup, launching pure electric versions of the BMW 7 Series and BMW X1, and launching a pure electric version of the BMW 5 Series in 2023. The BMW Group will also launch other electric models, including the new MINI Countryman and the Rolls-Royce Pure Electric Vehicle Spectre.
In 2021, BMW's M-series high-performance vehicles sold 163,542 units, up 13.4% year-on-year, once again setting a record for sales in the field of high-performance vehicles. Sales of the new BMW M3 and BMW M4 performed particularly well, with sales of the BMW X5 M and BMW X6 M Sports Activity Vehicles also growing year-on-year.
Rolls-Royce's global sales in 2021 hit a 117-year record high of 5,586 units, up 48.7% year-on-year. Last year, demand for all Rolls-Royce models was strong around the world, especially the Ghost, Cullinan and all Black Badge models, and current orders will continue until the third quarter of 2022. Rolls-Royce is preparing to launch its first pure electric model, the Spectre, in the fourth quarter of 2023.
In terms of market, BMW Group's sales in China in 2021 hit a record high and continue to lead the high-end market. The BMW and MINI brands delivered 846,237 new vehicles in China, up 8.9% year-over-year. Among them, the sales of electric vehicles of these two brands in China also continued to grow, with bmw iX3 sales exceeding 21,000 units, an increase of 69.6% year-on-year. Sales of the two brands in South Korea also increased 11% year-on-year to 77,592 units.
In the U.S. market, BMW brand deliveries rose 20.8 percent year-over-year to 336,644 units, essentially the same as pre-COVID-19 deliveries in 2019. The MINI brand sold 29,930 vehicles last year, up 6.4 percent year-over-year. BMW X Series models account for 60% of total U.S. sales under the BMW brand and MINI brand.
In the European market, the bmw brand and mini brand totaled 948,087 units, an increase of 3.9% year-on-year. Among them, the sales of these two brands in the Netherlands have reached record highs, and the BMW iX3 is the best-selling electric model in the Dutch high-end car market, with 2,733 registered units.
The BMW Group's market share in Germany continues to grow, delivering 267,917 vehicles in 2021 (a 6.8% decrease year-on-year) and leading the high-end car market with a market share of more than 35%. A quarter of the new cars delivered by the BMW and MINI brands in Germany are electric vehicles, with sales of pure electric vehicles more than doubling to 27,248 units and plug-in hybrid vehicles at 43,842.
The BMW Group is optimistic about 2022. "In 2022, we want to continue to achieve profitable growth, and we will systematically expand our pure electric vehicle product range. We have set ambitious growth targets in the field of pure electric vehicles, that is, the sales of pure electric vehicles have more than doubled from last year. ”