BMW Group Australia recorded a significant increase of 81% in the registration of electrified models through the first quarter of 2023.
BMW battery electric (BEV) models were up 112% compared with the first quarter of 2022 (458 units versus 216), with triple digit percentage increases for key models such as the iX3 (175 units versus 86) and iX (255 units versus 84).
Fifteen examples of the BMW i7 – the first-ever fully electric 7 Series which launched earlier this year – also found new homes in the first three months of 2023.
With this growth in the local market, BMW led its key German competitors for market share of BEV models in the first quarter of the year.
The combined total of BMW BEV and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) registrations also saw a 45% increase during Q1 (551 units versus 381).
BMW will continue to strengthen its BEV line-up with the imminent arrival of the first-ever iX1, which provides a new entry point to the world of fully electric BMWs while offering luxury features and a driving range of 440km on the WLTP testing cycle. Later this year will also see local introduction of the most powerful fully electric BMW yet developed, the i7 M70 xDrive.
The MINI brand, which will offer a fully electric product line-up by 2030, posted growth of 272% in registrations of its BEV and PHEV offerings in the first quarter (268 units versus 72).
The MINI Countryman Hybrid PHEV was up 370% (127 units versus 27), while the MINI Electric Hatch BEV continued its success story with a 213% increase in registrations to the end of March (141 units versus 45).
Registrations of all BMW and MINI models in Australia, including conventional powertrain variants, were also up 4.2% in Q1. MINI increased its volume by nearly 35%, while BMW recorded a 0.3% uplift in spite of supply challenges.
News of the local electrified registrations came off the back of the BMW Group announcing impressive growth in global sales of fully electric models. The company recorded an increase of 83.2% in sales of fully electric BMW and MINIs (64,647 units), while BMW more than doubled its sales of BEV models, with 55,979 units delivered to customers (up 112.3%).
The robust growth for sales of the BMW Group’s electrified vehicles is in line with the company’s forward-thinking approach to sustainability and reducing C02 emissions throughout its entire value chain with the ambition of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
Wide ranging measures are already in place to achieve long term goals across the business, particularly in the energy-intensive area of manufacturing.
