In the first three months of this year, BMW AG sold a lot of electric cars from its main brand. They sold more than they did last year, even though other companies like Tesla and Volkswagen faced challenges with fewer people wanting to buy their electric cars.
BMW sold 41% more electric cars like the i4, iX1, and i7 compared to the same time last year. This helped their total electric car sales to go up by 28%.
While BMW did well, other companies struggled. Volkswagen, for example, saw a 3% drop in electric car sales. Mercedes-Benz’s electric car sales fell by 8%. Tesla also reported a decrease in sales compared to last year.
Even though electric car sales are down in all, BMW’s shares went up by 1.3% on Wednesday. Their stock has done better than Mercedes-Benz’s over the past year.
BMW, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz shared their sales numbers for the first quarter. They talked about this during a meeting in Brussels where they discussed challenges in transitioning to electric cars.
BMW is betting on selling more electric cars in the future. They have many new electric models like the i4 and iX2. BMW started working on electric cars earlier than other companies. Their i3 was one of the first electric cars, but not everyone liked it.
According to Citi analyst Harald Hendrikse, BMW wants to sell more electric cars than Mercedes-Benz. But as the luxury car market slows down, this might become harder.
Last year, about 15% of all BMW cars sold were electric. This year, they want to make it 20%. They plan to sell half a million electric cars this year. BMW faces tough competition in China, where Tesla is leading the electric car market.
Volkswagen hopes that more people will start buying electric cars again in Europe. They received orders for twice as many electric cars in the first quarter compared to last year. They have around 160,000 electric cars on order.