BMW AG posted record annual sales in China as demand for luxury vehicles and the automaker’s push into electric vehicles helped overcome challenges posed by a global chip shortage and COVID-19 outbreaks.
The German automaker last year delivered more than 846,000 BMW and Mini vehicles with its Chinese partners, up 9 percent from the previous year, it said in a statement yesterday.
Sales of new-energy vehicles surged 70 percent to about 48,000 units, it said.
Photo: Reuters
The figures are reflective of the broader auto market.
While total sales rose 4.5 percent last year for the first annual gain since 2018, deliveries of new-energy vehicles, including electric vehicles, surged 169 percent to 2.99 million units, China Passenger Car Association data released on Tuesday showed.
The association forecast that new-energy vehicle sales would hit 5.5 million this year.
BMW aims to bring seven new-energy models to the Chinese market this year, including the locally produced iX and iX3.
The company’s record deliveries showed how premium brands have been more resilient to the chip shortage and supply chain pressures.
Volkswagen AG’s Porsche, Bentley and Lamborghini marques all set annual sales records in China last year, while its main VW brand, including Jetta, posted a 15 percent decline.
BMW is set to increase its stake in its joint venture with local partner Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd (華晨中國汽車控股) to 75 percent from 50 percent, after the Chinese government removed the cap that has for decades restricted global brands’ access to the world’s largest vehicle market.
Globally, BMW beat long-time rival Mercedes-Benz to the luxury vehicle sales crown for the first time since 2015, delivering 2.2 million units last year after better navigating the semiconductor shortage.
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