8.5% of BMW USA Sales Electric in 4th Quarter
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BMW USA has released its 4th quarter and full-year 2022 sales figures. One of the highlights from BMW was that 4th quarter full-electric vehicle sales were greater than sales in the first 3 quarters combined. Overall, 4.7% of BMW USA’s sales in 2022 were electric vehicle sales. That’s not counting plugin hybrids (apparently, BMW got the memo). In the 4th quarter, 8.5% of BMW’s sales were 100%-electric vehicle sales. However, with such a strong surge in the 4th quarter compared to the rest of the year, and a third electric model just available since November, we can expect a much greater share of sales being fully electric in 2023 — perhaps 10%+.
Overall, BMW’s sales were up 9.4% in the 4th quarter of 2022 compared to the 4th quarter of 2021 (101,738 vs. 93,031), but they were down slightly (1.3%) on the full year numbers — 332,388 versus 336,644.
BMW’s electric vehicle sales got a boost as the year went on thanks to the company finally rolling out a handful of electric vehicle models. In March, it unleashed the BMW iX and BMW i4 from US dealerships. The BMW i7 then hit the market in November.
Now, to deflate the balloon a bit — BMW’s big 4th quarter entailed just 8,689 full-electric vehicle sales. That’s indeed more than the 6,895 sold in the first 3 quarters of 2022, but it’s nothing to write home about. Tesla, which is theoretically in the same class and competition as BMW, probably had about 500,000 US sales (all fully electric of course) in 2022. BMW’s 15,584 don’t fit in the same sentence.
In fact, Tesla’s 500,000 or so US sales are sizably above BMW’s overall US sales, 332,388. Who predicted that 5 years ago? (Well, aside from CleanTechnica.)
It’s a good sign that BMW is now focusing on electric vehicles, in sales reports and in ramping up model availability and production. But it’s got a long way to go.
Nonetheless, I’ll let BMW have the last word. “With three fully electric BMW vehicles and several plug-in variants now available at U.S. dealerships, we are firmly on the road to electrification, offering our customers all of the performance, technology, luxury, and quality that BMW is known for — now also in an emissions free package,” said Sebastian Mackensen, President and CEO, BMW of North America. “At the same time, I’d like to recognize the pivotal role that our dealer network and Plant Spartanburg continue to play in our sales success in the U.S.”
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