For the first time since 2015, BMW AG beat its longtime rival, Mercedes-Benz, on sales of its luxury cars.
2021 is a very good year for carmaker BMW, which is passing its rival Mercedes in terms of sales. Deliveries of BMW brand cars jumped 9 percent to a record 2.2 million last year, outpacing Mercedes’ roughly 2.1 million, falling 5 percent after the chip shortage worsened in the second half of the year.
At BMW, sales of plug-in hybrids and fully electric cars like the iX sedan jumped 70 percent to 328,316 cars, compared with a 69 percent increase at Mercedes. BMW more than doubled its electric vehicle sales in 2021 and is looking to repeat that feat in 2022, Pieter Nota, BMW’s head of sales, said in a statement Wednesday. “In 2022, we want to continue our profitable growth and will systematically expand our range of fully electric vehicles.”
BMW’s victory over Mercedes could be partly due to the component shortage that skews global car sales. According to figures released last week, Toyota sold more vehicles in the U.S. last year than General Motors, and it’s the first time a manufacturer has beaten the Detroit giant since 1931.
BMW’s deliveries outpaced those of Daimler AG (which owns Mercedes) for much of the year, even though the brand had to temporarily shut down plants during the summer months. BMW says its decision to increase chip orders, despite the impact on sales of the pandemic in 2020, has helped it keep plants supplied with components this year.
Last week, Mercedes said component supply issues will continue to plague the industry in the first half of 2022 and urged that more capacity be added globally. BMW also said it expects the shortage to continue over the next six months.
Of note, electric vehicle deliveries have been a bright spot for both companies, as they have launched new battery-powered models and sought to comply with stricter CO2 emissions regulations.
Read also > BMW XM: THE MOST POWERFUL BMW M IN ITS CLASS
Featured photo : © BMW
