March 2016: BMW Group U.S.

[William Maley]

BMW Group U.S. Reports March 2016 Sales

• BMW brand sales decrease 12.5 percent
• MINI brand sales decrease 18.3 percent

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – April 1, 2016… Sales of BMW brand vehicles decreased 12.5 percent in March for a total of 30,033 compared to 34,310 vehicles sold in March, 2015.  Year-to-date, BMW brand is down 10.0 percent on sales of 70,613 compared to 78,492 sold in the first three months of 2015.

 

Of particular note in March, were strong increases in the sales of BMW Sports Activity Vehicles, in particular the BMW X1 and the BMW X3.  The popular new BMW 7 Series continues its sales success, increasing by 16.1 percent over March 2015.

 

“It’s been a tumultuous first quarter of the year for business in the U.S. with plenty of volatility even in the premium vehicle segment,” said Ludwig Willisch, President and CEO, BMW of North America. “The desire for premium Sports Activity Vehicles continues accelerating at a strong pace in the U.S. and I’m very pleased that our SAV plant in South Carolina will make another production increase in the months ahead to help us satisfy the ever-growing demand for our X models.”

 

BMW Group Sales

In total, the BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) reported March sales of 34,795 vehicles, a decrease of 13.3 percent from the 40,139 vehicles sold in the same month a year ago.  Year-to-date, BMW Group sales are down 10.8 percent on sales of 81,452 in the first three months of 2016 compared to 91,269 in the same period in 2015.

 

MINI Brand Sales

For March, MINI USA reported 4,762 automobiles sold, a decrease of 18.3 percent from the 5,829 sold in the same month a year ago.  Year-to-date, MINI USA reported a total of 10,839 automobiles sold, a decrease of 15.2 percent from 12,777 automobiles sold in the first three months of 2015.

 

[Suaviloquent]

3 Series, 5 Series, 6 Series, and X5 all down by double digits.

 

It must be hitting them in their pocketbooks.

[David]

But the X3 is up 190+% and the Mini Cooper /S CLubman is up a earth shatering 51750%.

[Robert Hall]

Odd they have the X1 listed under passenger cars and the X3, etc under 'light trucks'....the sales of the i3 and i8 are way down, the novelty worn off quickly..

[Suaviloquent]

I think the problem with the i8 is that it's just not advanced enough.

 

And like...seriously, Tesla are faster, have more combined range, don't use CF and don't have 3 cylinder engines in a six figure car.

 

Not that this and a Tesla even remotely compete, but seriously Porsche 918, Acura NSX, McLaren P1 actually are the real super/hypercars.

 

The i8 suffers just like the ELR.

 

The era of the personal coupe for just fashion statements is over. Coupes have to deliver blistering performance or incredible value or obscene luxury. And the i8 fails on all of those metrics.

[smk4565]

Their sedans are getting clobbered, but the crossovers are up.  This is happening everywhere.  What is sort of scary is that BMW is the brand for driving enthusiasts, and even they are struggling to sell sedans, coupes and convertibles.   Pretty soon across the automotive industry you'll see more and more cars and performance cars die since they can't sell them, and in their place will be yet another crossover.

[balthazar]

I3 and i8 are abject failures. 6-series basically is, also.

 

I seem to recall when Cadillac was down like 5%, there were numerous articles blurbing "slide" and the like, so BRACE YOURSELF for the like RE BMW's 10% YTD decline.

[regfootball]

I too noticed the X1 is a car.

But I mentioned in another thread just the other day, I believe even the BMW's of the world will start to weed out their hardcore machinery and spread the fwd based stuff through more of their lineups.

When BMW's car lineup starts to tank it is a forecaster for others. Maybe Cadillacs numbers aren't that bad after all. Cadillac will have to look at limiting their sedan lineups.

Camaros and mustangs may evolve to being lone standees in the whole coupe market.

Mini has to bring more numbers for BMW. I was disappointed their new model was not at the auto show here. Couple weeks ago. Is mini a flash in the pan?

[smk4565]

If what is happening to BMW happens to all the others, you'll see a brand like Chevy with 5 cars and 10 crossovers.   And there will be press releases claiming "no longer a business case" for some long standing models.  The Hyundai Azera is dying, Taurus probably dying, eventually Impala, Avalon, Maxima will too. 

 

Camaro and Mustang will probably survive, since there are so few coupes left.  I hope one day people get sick of these crossovers, but it doesn't seem to be happening.

[balthazar]

Ideally, going forward, there will be (likely a very unpleasant) merging of the sedan and the crossover, making 1 vehicle.

As it is, the differences are getting slimmer and slimmer.