BMW of North America Reports its Q1 Sales in the U.S. — 57% of the Vehicles Sold Were X-Series SUVs Built in South Carolina

author: FutureCar Staff    

BMW reported Q1 sales on Friday and despite the supply chain challenges and pandemic related shutdowns plaguing the auto industry, the automaker posted a 3.2% jump in sales compared to Q1 2021.

BMW brand sales in the U.S., which includes its MINI brand, totaled 73,714 vehicles vs 71,433 vehicles sold in the first quarter of 2021. BMW's X Series vehicles sold especially well, accounting for 57% of BMW's sales in the first quarter of this year.  

All of BMW's X Series models, including the X3, X4, X5 and X6 Sports Activity Vehicles, are built in the U.S. at its factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina. 

BMW Manufacturing in Spartanburg set a new production record last year, assembling a total of 433,810 BMW X Series vehicles. The record number represents a 20% increase from 2020, which was largely disrupted by the global pandemic. However, the production total also surpassed the previous record of 411,620 X Series vehicles produced at the plant in 2019. 

BMW's top two U.S. models are the X3 and X5 SUVs. 

BMW also said it produced a record number of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in 2021, with about 70,000 units shipped from its factory in Spartanburg.  More than half of the BMW vehicles built in Spartanburg were delivered to customers in the U.S. market.

BMW's Q1 sedan sales dropped by 10.9%, which reflects consumer preferences for SUVs and crossovers in the U.S. Although the automaker's sedan sales dropped, SUV sales increased by 16.9% compared to the same period last year. 

MINI brand sales in the U.S. totaled 6,876 vehicles in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of 9.4% vs the first quarter of 2021. 

BMW had some high-profile vehicle launches this year, starting with the fully electric BMW iX M60 that was revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. BMW also unveiled the newly updated BMW 8 Serie Coupe at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance in early March in Florida.  

In addition, BMW's all-new, fully electric BMW iX and BMW i4 also began arriving in showrooms during the latter part of the quarter and will help BMW maintain some of its sales momentum into Q2.

 "2022 is shaping up to be an exciting year for BMW in the U.S.," said Sebastian Mackensen, president and CEO, BMW of North America.  "As we continue to manage through the headwinds caused by ongoing supply chain bottlenecks, I'm happy to say that we've been able carry the sales momentum of 2021 into the new year.  We've also successfully launched two new electric vehicles, which are perfect for the U.S. market and, with more fully electric models coming later this year, you can already see our company's electrification strategy taking shape." 

To help boost its EV sales, BMW announced a new partnership with EV charging provider Electrify America in February that provides two years of complimentary charging sessions to buyers of BMW's new electric vehicles, which begins on the date of purchase.

The EV charging program will launch with the sale of BMW's all-new iX xDrive50, BMW i4 eDrive40 and BMW i4 M50 electric vehicles. BMW customers will have access to complimentary charging at more than 3,000 Electrify America chargers across the U.S. 

Two weeks ago, BMW shared the first details of its upcoming electric i7 sedan, which is an electric version of the automaker's flagship 7-Series sedan.

The details of the new battery-powered sedan were presented at BMW Group's Annual Conference in Munich by Frank Weber, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG for Development. Weber mainly focused on the technology of the new i7, but shared a few teaser photos.

The new all-electric i7 will be officially revealed this month. The luxury battery-powered sedan represents the future of the BMW brand, which will include a full lineup of battery-powered models on sale globally. 

The switch to building more EVs will make BMW a more formidable rival to segment leader Tesla.

FutureCar Staff