BMW has high expectations for its electric vehicle sales in the United States this year, according to the brand’s top sales executive who spoke with Automotive News. The German automaker aims to sell around 50,000 EVs, a significant increase compared to the 17,964 units sold in the first half of the year. Shaun Bugbee, Executive Vice President of Operations for BMW of North America, emphasized the company’s commitment to electric mobility as part of the transition from a reliance on combustion engines to a future that encompasses both combustion and battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Bugbee highlighted the i4 as BMW’s top-selling BEV, making up nearly 60 percent of the brand’s EV sales in the first half of the year, amounting to 10,724 units.
The i4 is BMW’s Best Seller EV
Furthermore, the BMW executive expressed optimism for the upcoming quarters, pointing to an accelerated performance expected in Q3 and Q4. He also mentioned the impending arrival of BMW’s fourth battery model, the i5 sedan, which is scheduled for late 2023. The new 5 Series electric will be offered in two configurations: the i5 eDrive40 single-motor and the i5 M60 dual-motor. The latter will sit the at the top of the new 5 Series lineup. The i5 M60 is BMW’s M Performance variant using the xDrive all-wheel drive and dual motors to generate 590 horsepower and 549 pound-feet of torque. With Sport Boost/Launch Control engaged, the i5 M60 can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds.
BMW currently sells the following electric vehicles in the United States (range will vary by tire choices):
- BMW i4 eDrive35 single-motor – 256 miles
- BMW i4 eDrive40 single-motor – 301 miles
- BMW i4 xDrive40 dual-motor – 307 miles
- BMW i4 M50 – 270 miles
- BMW i5 eDrive40 -295 miles
- BMW i5 M60 – 256 miles
- BMW i7 eDrive50 single-motor – 317
- BMW i7 xDrive60 – 318 miles
- BMW i7 M70 – 295 miles
- BMW iX xDrive50 -307 miles
- BMW iX M60 – 288 miles
Of course, all brands are still playing catch up with Tesla, the segment leader. Although Tesla does not provide specific sales figures for individual markets, according to estimates from the Automotive News Research & Data Center, the company delivered approximately 173,000 units in the second quarter. This number represents a significant 46 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
BMW of North America announced last week the sales results for the BMW and MINI brands in the U.S. during the second quarter of 2023. During the second quarter of 2023, BMW brand sales in the U.S. reached 87,948 vehicles, indicating an 11.5% growth compared to the 78,905 vehicles sold in the same quarter of 2022. In the first half of this year, BMW brand sales amounted to 170,414 vehicles, marking an 11.7% increase compared to the corresponding period last year.
[Source: Automotive News]