With sales growth of 32.2% (135,826 deliveries), 2019 was also the most successful year in the almost fifty-year history of BMW M GmbH. It was quite a busy year for the M Sportscar Division which introduced a large number of refreshed or new models. Throughout the year, we’ve seen the introduction of the X3 M, X4 M, X5 M and X6 M, the M2 CS and luxury sports cars M8 Coupé, M8 Convertible and M8 Gran Coupé. Thanks to this strong lineup, BMW M outsold its arch-rival – Mercedes-Benz AMG.
The high-performance and sports-car brand Mercedes-AMG achieved a new record year in 2019 with 132,136 units sold and double-digit growth of 11.8%. The Affalterbach-based company achieved its highest sales figures in history also in Great Britain and Japan. Mercedes-AMG’s largest markets in 2019 were the USA, Germany and Great Britain, followed by China and Japan.
Mercedes-AMG also introduced a wide range of products, from the facelifted Mercedes-AMG GT and the Mercedes-AMG GT4-door Coupé, to electrified AMG SUV models with integrated EQ Boost technology.
Despite regaining the U.S. crown, BMW had to concede in the global race of premium car sales. According to the latest sales reports, Mercedes-Benz successfully defended its crown as the world’s bestselling premium car brand, beating rivals BMW and Audi for the fourth year in a row.
Last week, BMW reported sales of its namesake branded vehicles which rose 2 percent to a record 2.17 million cars last year. Mercedes said its sales increased 1.3 percent to 2.34 million vehicles.
Looking at the overall BMW Group, with its MINI and Rolls Royce marques, sales came in at 2,520,307 units compared to the 2,339,562 reported by Mercedes-Benz and Smart.
In the U.S., BMW sold 324,826 units beating Mercedes-Benz by 8,732 units. That’s a very narrow gap, mind you, and it comes after Mercedes posted a drop in sales over the last month of 2019. The Stuttgart-based car maker sold almost exactly the same amount of cars in 2019 as it did in 2018, adding up to a total of 316,094 units.
