If anyone is still pondering whether BMW is right launching yet another crossover in this already crowded segment in 2018, the sales figures for the past month should provide a bit more insight into why the Germans went down this road. The April figures have just been published and the BMW Group apparently reported a 4.2 percent sales increase in April, most of it thanks to the increased popularity of its SAV line-up.

In case you don’t speak fluent Bavarian, that’s the acronym for Sports Activity Vehicle, or BMW’s way of saying SUV. To be more precise, compared to the same month of 2017, BMW sold 28.9 percent more SAVs while on a year-to-date basis, the numbers have gone up by 6.3 percent already. Overall, the BMW Group sold a total of 27,213 vehicles in April, compared with 26,105 vehicles sold in the same month a year ago.

“The evidence of spring is all around us but for a car company there’s no better sign than sales momentum as both BMW and MINI enter May with solid increases over a year ago,” said Bernhard Kuhnt, president and CEO, BMW of North America. “The BMW X models, especially X1, X3 and X5, continue to lead the way with our Sports Activity Vehicles accounting for 51% of April sales.” Understandably so, BMW is also expecting a further boost as soon as more and more owners start taking delivery of their brand new BMW X2 models.

Sales of BMW brand vehicles increased 3.8 percent in April 2018 for a total of 23,482­­ compared to 22,624 vehicles sold in April 2017. Year-to-date, the BMW brand is up 3.2 percent on sales of 97,317 vehicles compared to 94,306 sold in the first four months of 2017. MINI vehicles showed even further growth, MINI USA reporting 3,731 vehicles sold, an increase of 7.2 percent from the 3,481 sold in the same month a year ago. The MINI Countryman continued its strong performance this month, rising 44 percent compared to April 2017 and contributing to a 73.6 percent year-to-date increase over Countryman sales in the first four months of 2017.

able 1: New Vehicle Sales BMW of North America, LLC, April 2018

 

April

2018

April

2017

%

YTD

2018

YTD

2017

%

BMW brand

23,482

22,624

3.8

97,317

94,306

3.2

BMW passenger cars

15,032

15,168

-0.9

62,573

58,793

6.4

BMW light trucks

8,450

7,456

13.3

34,744

35,513

-2.2

MINI brand

3,731

3,481

7.2

14,264

13,732

3.9

TOTAL Group

27,213

26,105

4.2

111,581

108,038

3.3

BMW Pre-Owned Vehicles

  • In April, BMW Certified Pre-Owned sold 10,507 vehicles, a decrease of 17.6 percent from April 2017.
  • Total BMW Pre-Owned sold 20,269 vehicles, a decrease of 1.6 percent from April 2017.

MINI Pre-Owned Vehicles

  • MINI Certified Pre-Owned sold 1,065 vehicles in April, an increase of 0.9 percent from April 2017.
  • Total MINI Pre-Owned sold 2,492 vehicles in April, a decrease of 15.2 percent from April 2017.