BMW’s M Division has once again toppled its main rival, Mercedes-AMG, in terms of sales for 2021. Last year, the M Division sold 163,542 cars, compared to the 145,979 cars sold by Mercedes-AMG. This follows the previous two years, in which BMW M also outsold AMG, giving the M Division further bragging rights. Both brands did well, though, in 2021. In fact, despite the global chip shortage and the continued Covid-19 pandemic, both BMW M and Mercedes-AMG increased their sales in 2021, over the previous year. Mercedes-AMG increased sales by 16.7 percent, which was a larger increase than BMW M’s 13.4 percent. So while BMW M sold more cars, Mercedes-AMG showed a bigger bump in sales for 2021.

“This track record is the perfect start to the anniversary year for us. For the 50th anniversary of the brand, the letter M is stronger than ever. With our first independent model since the legendary BMW M1, we are completely reinterpreting the high-performance automobile segment. The BMW XM combines expressive design and progressive luxury in the interior with an incomparable driving experience between outstanding performance and almost noiseless gliding in all-electric driving mode. It thus conveys a unique form of sovereignty and at the same time points the way to the future of our brand.” said BMW CEO Frank van Meel.

Interesting, two of the cars that helped BMW M’s sales in 2021 were the BMW M3 and M4. While it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the brand’s two most famous cars sold well, their styling drew heavy criticism from the media and, if our comments section is anything to judge by, customers. However, it seems that customers didn’t mind the new grille as much as many enthusiasts thought. “The response to the new generation of BMW M3 and BMW M4 has been simply overwhelming. We can therefore assume that the demand for these iconic sports cars will continue to grow in 2022.” said BMW M head of customer sales Timo Resch.

It will be interesting to see how BMW M’s sales do this year. With the launch of cars like the BMW i4 M50 and iX M60, it will also have two new electrified models to help secure the more EV-minded enthusiasts. It will also debut the M3 Touring later this year, which will almost certainly sell out completely, and the standalone BMW XM.

However, Mercedes-AMG has its own cars launching in 2022. The all-new Mercedes-AMG SL-Class (which is now an all-AMG product) is likely to be a massive help to the brand, as the SL is always a popular convertible, and it’s also going to be launching a hybrid version of the C63. So there will be some interesting new AMGs to help the brand’s sales sheet. Will BMW M continue to beat its main rival in sales this year? It will certainly be interesting finding out.

[Source: BimmerToday]