BMW smoked the competition with a record-setting sales year.
(BMW)
BMW outsold every other luxury automaker by a mile in 2023, a record-setting year for the German marque.
A whopping 2,253,835 Bimmers left dealer lots last year, according to a Robb Report article citing Automobile News. The number is a new record for BMW and reflects a seven percent sales increase compared to last year’s figure.
BMW’s burgeoning EV sector, which includes the all-electric i7 and the buzzy, M1-succeeding XM “Label Red” hybrid, contributed a significant portion with 14 percent of total sales. Exactly 330,956 battery-powered vehicles emblazoned with the blue-and-white roundel moved in 2023, accounting for 14 percent of total sales and a year-over-year BMW EV sales increase of 92 percent.
An additional 301,506 vehicle sales came from Mini and Rolls-Royce, which are owned by BMW. In total, BMW Group sold 2,555,341 cars, 6.5 percent more than in 2022.
Mercedes-Benz notched a distant No. 2 in the luxury automobile sales race, virtually maintaining its 2022 numbers with 2,043,800 vehicles sold. The lack of growth is attributed to part shortages and the transition to new models. However, like BMW, Mercedes’ EV sales skyrocketed to 222,600, marking a 73 percent increase over its 2022 EV sales.
Audi, owned by Volkswagen Group, saw an 18 percent increase to 1,895,240 vehicles sold to take third, while all-electric automaker Tesla took fourth with a 38 percent year-to-year increase to 1,8080,581 EVs. Lexus and Volvo, which haven’t released their 2023 numbers, are expected to take fifth and sixth.