BMW on track for 2023 target despite Q1 sales fall

BMW remains on track for slightly higher sales this year despite a dip in demand in the first quarter, including in the Chinese market, the automaker said.

BMW said it delivered 588,138 BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles in the first quarter, down 1.5 percent on the previous year, while full-electric vehicle sales rose 83 percent year-on-year to 64,647 vehicles.

By region, BMW only saw sales growth in the U.S., with an 11.1 percent increase to 81,877 unit sales.

Sales in China fell 6.6 percent, but the company said the Chinese economy was expected to stabilize over the course of this year.

A 1.9 percent fall in European sales was attributed largely to an export and production ban in the Russian market, where Chinese marques are benefiting from the exit by Western automakers.

BMW remained confident about its 2023 guidance despite a “challenging business environment,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The BMW Group is on track for slight sales growth in the full year 2023,” said Pieter Nota, management board member responsible for customer, brands and sales.

“The main growth drivers in 2023 will be fully-electric vehicles and models from the high-end premium segment,” he added.

BMW and its competitors are pushing to switch towards electric models to remain competitive and meet climate targets ahead of the 2035 phase-out of CO2-emitting cars in the European Union.

BMW brand’s first-quarter volume was flat at 517,957 but full-electric vehicle sales more than doubled to 55,979 on demand for the iX, i7, i4 and iX3.