BMW Falls Further Behind In 2016 With A 6.4% Decrease In May Sales

Sales of BMW brand vehicles decreased 6.4 percent in May for a total of 29,017 compared to 31,003 vehicles sold in May, 2015. Year-to-date, BMW brand is down 8.7 percent on sales of 124,581 compared to 136,447 sold in the first five months of 2015.

Sales of BMW Sports Activity Vehicles gave a boost to May with the new BMW X1 leading the way, increasing 93.9 percent, the BMW X3 increasing 28.0 percent and the BMW X6 increasing 26.0 percent.

“The shorter number of selling days in May no doubt affected the month totals but the ongoing transition to X models remains clear,” said Ludwig Willisch, President and CEO, BMW of North America. “The BMW X1 grows more popular each month with its siblings X3 and X6 giving it strong support.  The X5 was limited only by availability but that will continue improving in the months ahead.”

BMW Group Sales

In total, the BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) reported May sales of 33,612 vehicles, a decrease of 8.8 percent from the 36,836 vehicles sold in the same month a year ago. Year-to-date, BMW Group sales are down 9.8 percent on sales of 144,811 in the first five months of 2016 compared to 160,533 in the same period in 2015.

MINI Brand Sales

For May, MINI USA reported 4,595 automobiles sold, a decrease of 21.2 percent from the 5,833 sold in the same month a year ago. Year-to-date, MINI USA reported a total of 20,230 automobiles sold, a decrease of 16.0 percent from 24,086 automobiles sold in the first five months of 2015.

GermanNut - 6/1/2016 5:11:24 PM

+1 Boost

BMW is paying a very heavy price for its indistinguishable exterior design changes for the 7-Series, cheap interiors and focus on sporty driving dynamics at the expense of luxurious ride quality.

This year BMW will lose both the U.S. and global sales titles to Mercedes-Benz.

GermanNut - 6/1/2016 5:14:55 PM

+3 Boost

Sales of the 3-Series and X5 have fallen 27% and 16% YTD respectively.

focal - 6/2/2016 10:07:01 AM

+2 Boost

GermanNut, I think it's the lack of sporty driving dynamics inherent with the brand's history that's hurting BMW long term. The M2 helps a lot but the 3/5/7 are bloated in comparison to their past ideals. Add in falling behind in the perceived technology connectivity (Audi's virtual cockpit) and that combination is starting to hurt them. Forcing sales over the years with financial incentives has to stop eventually. 2016 is the year those incentives don't help sales growth but just lower the margins on all cars sold. You have to create cars people truly want so they pay closer to MSRP.

Porsche has shown that BMW hasn't stayed focused on the performance first mentality. Luxury is actually the easy part of the car. A brand new Hyundai Equis or Genesis is more than good enough. It takes years, focus and generations of car engineering to get dynamics properly.

GermanNut - 6/2/2016 3:07:21 PM

+1 Boost

I think you make a great point. The millennial generation wants the cutting edge technological connectivity provided by Audi and the baby boomers want the luxurious interiors and smooth ride quality provided by Mercedes-Benz.

The number of people who want BMW's race car first/luxury second brand image is shrinking and BMW is paying the price by not adapting its vehicles towards the connectivity or luxury ends.

focal - 6/2/2016 10:08:25 AM

+3 Boost

oh and I drive a F30 BMW 6MT as my daily and a Porsche GT4 as my fun car, so I'm speaking only from preferences. The market place is quite different now and I'm a dying breed of car enthusiast who focuses on the car first more than the badge. Having the badges is only a bonus.

PUGPROUD - 6/2/2016 3:02:02 PM

+1 Boost

In the quest for growth BMW sold its soul to the devil. BMW's use to be the Ultimate Driving Machine and exclusive. Now they are a mass marketer of marshmallow cars sold on cheap leases and suffer for it. When anybody can own one no one wants one. I owned some great BMW's in the 80's but nothing in their current lineup appeals to me at the moment and my bucks are spent elsewhere.

MrEE - 6/3/2016 7:25:18 PM

+1 Boost

Makes you wonder what has changed in 5 months, on top last year and sliding dramatically this year. Could be they relied on year end incentives and the transactions forced on dealerships to get the 2016 win at this years expense. I would think they need to get their incentives up (>15%) to get sales back, call it conquest cash.

iamdabest1 - 6/4/2016 11:06:29 PM

+1 Boost

pretty surprising theyre having such a poor year considering 2016 is the last year bmw is giving free brakes,free rotors, free windshield wipers maintenance program . 2016 is also their last year of 4 years 50k miles warranty, starting 2017 its 3 year 36k miles, theyre probably going to lose even more sales next year.