In the US, 2018 marked another great year for BMW in terms of sales. Last year, BMW brand sales increased 1.7 percent on total sales of 311,014 compared to the 305,685 sold in 2017. Compared to maybe a decade ago, the SUV sales for the Bavarians are the bread and butter, with record numbers year-over-year.
BMW’s lineup of Sports Activity Vehicles accounted for 63 percent of BMW brand sales in December 2018. For the tenth consecutive month, the BMW X3 was the top-selling BMW model in the U.S., followed by the new BMW X5. Taken together, the BMW X3 and X5 represented more than two out of every 5 BMW vehicles sold in the U.S. in December.
When it comes to premium compact sedans, the market has a new leader. According to California-based electric car maker Tesla, their Model 3 premium sedan sold to around 138,000 U.S. customers in 2018, out of the 145,846 Model 3s produced. Tesla touts that Model 3 is now the best selling vehicle in the premium segment within the United States.
In comparison, the sales of the BMW 3 and 4 Series were reported at 75,957 units. Mercedes-Benz says that 60,409 C-Class models were sold in the US in 2018, while Lexus reported 48,484 units for its Lexus ES.
For the full year, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus, and Audi – even Mazda and VW – sold more cars than Tesla.
2019 will bring reduced tax credits for Tesla customers, so it remains to be seen how those caps will affect the sales. Yet, Tesla expect to produce a large number of Model 3s this year due to the planned expansion into Europe and China.
[Source: TheDrive]
