BMW Group said sales figures for the first six months of this year were impacted by the effects of the temporary closure of retail outlets worldwide. 

The company said it delivered a total of 962,575 (-23.0 percent) BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles to customers worldwide in the first half-year.

“We are following the development of global demand very closely and continue to plan for various scenarios so we can respond quickly as regions around the globe recover from the coronavirus pandemic at different speeds,” said Pieter Nota, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for customer, brands and sales. “We are seeing a positive development in China, where our second-quarter sales were once again higher than in the previous year.” 

Nota added, “Demand for our electrified vehicles also outperformed the market trend in the first half of the year. Our wide range of plug-in hybrid models and the new fully-electric MINI are in high demand among our customers.” 

 Vehicle deliveries in first half-year by brand

A total of 842,153 (-21.7 percent) BMW vehicles were delivered in the first six months of the current year. The MINI brand sold 118,862 (-31.1 percent) units during the same period.

In the first half of the year, a total of 61,652 (+3.4 percent) electrified BMW and MINI vehicles were handed over to customers.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars reported sales of 1,560 (-37.6 percent) vehicles in the first half of the current year.

A total of 76,707 (‑17.7 percent) motorcycles were sold between January and June.

BMW and MINI sales in key regions worldwide

Germany

Company officials said the BMW Group’s domestic market saw a positive trend in new orders – in particular, for electrified vehicles – at BMW, and especially MINI. A total of 116,255 BMW and MINI vehicles (-29.1 percent) were sold during the first six months; 10.8 percent of those were electrified.

Europe

In the Europe region, a total of 372,428 (-32.3 percent) BMW and MINI vehicles were delivered to customers between January and June of this year, company officials said. 

With 40,734 BEVs (battery electric vehicles) and PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) sold, the percentage of electrified vehicles stood at 10.9 percent. 

With limited exceptions, all retail outlets in the region had reopened by the end of the first half-year, company officials said.

North America

The situation in the U.S. remains mixed and varies from state to state, company officials said.

By mid-June, all retail outlets had reopened for the first time since early March, the officials said. A total of 133,844 vehicles (‑30.6 percent) were delivered to customers in the first half of the year; of those, 121,657 (-29.6 percent) were BMW brand vehicles.

Since the start of production in 1994, the Spartanburg plant has produced over 5 million vehicles. Currently, BMW Manufacturing produces more than 1,500 vehicles each day at the plant and exports 70 percent of the production. The factory is the global producer of the BMW X3, X3 M, X5, X5 M and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles and X4, X4 M, X6 and X6 M Sports Activity Coupes.

China

Company officials said that in China, sales for the first six months of the year totaled 329,069 vehicles (-6.0 percent). Sales in the second quarter were 17.1 percent higher year-on-year. That continues the positive trend pointing to recovery in this market since March, BMW officials said.