While some automakers are feeling the cooling effect of lower-than-expected electrification sales, the BMW Group is firing on all cylinders. In fact, the automaker’s order book is so full that the Germans have decided that their brand is “not interested” in cutting prices, even though rivals are doing just that to boost demand.
The news that BMW Group is refusing to cut prices to increase market share comes after strong third-quarter sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) across all of the group’s brands. However, the BMW brand in particular led the way with a significant year-on-year increase in sales, reinforcing the decision to maintain pricing despite extremely high global auto loan interest rates.
“We have no interest in lowering prices to gain market share,” BMW Chairman Oliver Zipse told Reuters in an interview on Friday, referring specifically to the automaker’s stance on the volatile Chinese market. “That’s not our strategy. As you can see, we can still achieve substantial growth even at very acceptable prices.”
In effect, this move by BMW is essentially telling the public, “No tire kickers, we know what we have.” To be precise, BMW has sold very well so far with its all-electric cars.
But even if BMW doesn’t slash ex-factory prices, it’s worth noting that many dealers are offering incredible spot deals and price cuts on its electric models. As CarsDirect pointed out earlier this summer, BMW doesn’t always think as far ahead as other automakers, but if you want an iX, i4, i5, or i7, you can probably get it if you shop around and play your cards right.
Last quarter, BMW delivered a total of 93,931 all-electric vehicles under the BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce brands. Of the 621,699 vehicles delivered in the third quarter, a whopping 15% were all-electric. Deliveries in 2023 also represent a significant jump of nearly 80% from pure electric vehicle sales in the third quarter of 2022, compared to the same period last year.
Speaking of sales growth, deliveries of new electric vehicles across all BMW Group brands have been absolutely phenomenal. From January 1 to September 30, the Group delivered a total of 246,867 pure electric vehicles, an increase of nearly 93% compared to the same period last year. Perhaps even more impressive is that the BMW brand itself accounted for a large share of deliveries – 119.3%.
BMW said sales increased significantly in most of its major markets, including Europe, Germany, the Americas and the United States. However, the group’s sales fell in both Asia and the highly competitive Chinese market. Nevertheless, Zipse said the brand plans to stick to its pricing strategy.
While BMW’s success is certainly a positive trend for the automaker, it shows the company’s confidence in its global positioning and brand image. Other automakers are starting to lower the prices of their own electric vehicles to remain viable in an inflationary global economy. While the Germans believe the brand’s market share will continue to grow throughout the rest of the year, it’s unclear whether this pricing strategy will be sustainable in the long run.
