You don't need to be an analyst to realize that 2020 was a difficult year for brands, with the Covid-19 pandemic leading to considerable drops in sales. However, there are exceptions and among them is the BMW M, the sportiest division of the Bavarian brand.
Although the BMW Group saw its sales drop by 8.4% last year, selling a total of 2,324,809 cars divided by the BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands, the truth is that BMW M seemed immune to the crisis.
In 2020, 144,218 BMW vehicles were sold, a growth of 5.9% compared to 2019 and, above all, a sales record for the BMW M.
According to this, the growth and sales record are due to the success of the increasingly ubiquitous SUV. If you remember correctly, the BMW M range currently has no fewer than six SUVs (X2 M35i, X3 M, X4 M, X5 M, X6 M and X7 M).
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It's not just BMW sales that bring optimism to the BMW Group's hosts. Although 2020 was an atypical year, the German group even saw sales grow compared to 2019 in the last quarter of the year.
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In total, during this period, these amounted to 686 069 units sold, which represents a growth of 3.2%. But there's more, also sales of luxury models (the Series 7, Series 8 and X7) and electrified models have grown in the last year.
Speaking of the first ones, although BMW saw sales decrease 7.2%, its three most expensive models saw them grow 12.4%, accumulating, together, 115,420 units sold in 2020.
With the arrival of the iX3 in 2021, sales of electrified BMW models are expected to continue to grow.
The electrified models (both BMW and MINI), which include plug-in hybrids and 100% electric ones, rose 31.8% compared to 2019, with the growth of 100% electric models settling in the 13% and plug-in hybrids at 38.9%.