BMW has set an ambitious target for electric vehicle (EV) sales in the United States this year. Shaun Bugbee, the Executive Vice President of Operations at BMW of North America, announced that the company is forecasting sales of 50,000 electric vehicles in the country, a significant increase from the 15,584 units sold last year.
Bugbee further revealed that BMW’s sales projection of 50,000 EVs represents a nearly triple growth compared to the 17,964 EVs the company sold in the first half of this year. The primary contributor to BMW’s success in the EV market has been the BMW i4 electric compact sedan, which accounted for nearly 60 percent of the brand’s EV volume in the first six months, with 10,724 units sold.
“We’re driving electric more in the transition from a combustion-only to a world that includes combustion and BEV. The No. 1 volume car for us within BEV is i4,” stated Bugbee, emphasizing the company’s commitment to electric mobility.
Anticipating a prosperous third and fourth quarter, Bugbee mentioned the upcoming release of the BMW i5, the brand’s fourth battery-electric model, which is scheduled to debut later this year. Bugbee expressed confidence in the sales pipeline for the third quarter, indicating stability comparable to the second quarter.
While BMW’s sales target for 2023 is ambitious, it still lags behind industry leader Tesla in terms of US EV sales. Although Tesla does not disclose sales figures by market, estimations from the Automotive News Research & Data Center suggest that the electric automaker delivered approximately 173,000 vehicles in the second quarter of this year, marking a 46 percent year-on-year increase.
Even when considering BMW’s internal combustion engine vehicles, Tesla managed to outsell the German brand by a ratio of 2 to 1 in the first half of 2023. However, BMW can take solace in the fact that it is widening its lead over its traditional rival, Mercedes-Benz, having outsold them by 10,661 units in the second quarter.
The future of the US electric vehicle market appears promising. Automotive market research firm Cox Automotive projects that 1 million new EVs will be sold in the US in 2023, as automakers introduce 33 new EV models to the market this year. Additionally, a recent survey conducted by Cox revealed that 51 percent of US consumers are now considering electric vehicles, indicating a substantial increase from 38 percent just two years ago.
On a global scale, BMW Group achieved remarkable success in the second quarter of 2023, more than doubling its all-electric car sales to 88,289 units. Electric vehicles accounted for 14.1 percent of the company’s total volume, underscoring BMW’s commitment to the transition towards sustainable mobility solutions.
