Sales of luxury vehicles at both BMW and Mercedes-Benz fell in the last quarter. BMW saw the sharper decline of the two, at 13 percent, though it reported shocking growth in EV sales. At Mercedes-Benz, the group was down just three percent overall, but sales of BEVs dropped by almost one-third, canceling out PHEV growth. It seems that differing approaches to product lines are having differing results, but overall, the new car market is seeing a slight downturn, and premium automakers are not immune.
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BMW
BMW is a German luxury car and motorbike manufacturer and current owner of Mini, Rolls-Royce, and Alpina. With roots dating back to 1913 as Rapp Motorenwerke, it officially became Bayerische Motoren Werke in 1922 as a manufacturer of aircraft engines. BMW’s first car was built in 1928 when it built the Austin 7 under license from Dixi, which was called the BMW 3/15. BMW grew into a manufacturer of premium and luxury automobiles, launching iconic nameplates like the 3 Series, 5 Series, and 7 Series, and is today known as one of the leading luxury automakers in the world, while the BMW M division is hailed as a leading manufacturer of performance cars.
- Founded
- 1916
- Founder
- Karl Rapp
- Headquarters
- Munich, Germany
- Owned By
- Publicly Traded
- Current CEO
- Oliver Zipse
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Mercedes-Benz
While its roots trace back to the Benz Patent Motorwagen in 1895, Mercedes-Benz was officially founded in June 1926 when Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft and Benz & Cie. (the world’s oldest car company) merged to create Daimler-Benz. This German manufacturer of premium cars is historically known for its motorsport pedigree in early Grand Prix racing, its off-road prowess in the creation of military vehicles like the Genadewagen (now G-Class), and its focus on utmost luxury and technological innovation in models like the S-Class and SL. Today, it is one of the world’s largest automakers.
- Founded
- June 1926
- Founder
- Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler, Wilhelm Maybach, and Emil Jellinek
- Headquarters
- Stuttgart, Germany
- Owned By
- Daimler AG
- Current CEO
- Ola Källenius
Weak China Market Hurts Both Luxury Automakers
At BMW, the sales slump was led by a drop of 29.8 percent in China across BMW and Mini vehicles to 147,691. The rest of Asia didn’t fare much better, with total sales in the region dropping 24.1 percent to 205,987. That puts sales in the continent down 10.7 percent for the year.
Combined figures for BMW and Mini were down in all markets. Sales in the U.S. fell 9.2 percent, and its home market of Germany saw sales down 8.8 percent in Q3. Mini fared the worst on a percentage basis, down 25.2 percent to 52,669 vehicles. BMW M models saw the smallest slide at 3.9 percent.
The figures look bad, but BMW as a brand was up 7.6 percent in Europe, the company said, outperforming the market as a whole. The German automaker attributed Mini’s shortcomings on the turnover to a new lineup, and blamed delivery stops related to its braking system and “the difficult market environment in China” for the BMW Group’s overall drop.
At Mercedes-Benz, it was a mixed bag. The brand saw its car and SUV sales up 29 percent in North America, but that’s not enough to cancel out a 13 percent drop in China and 9 percent for Asia overall. Germany and Europe as a whole saw sales drops, by 7 and 4 percent respectively. Mercedes said it had better product availability but that “weaker macroeconomic conditions” in Asia hurt performance.
For BMW, fully electric models were the highlight. The segment saw serious growth, up 35 percent in Europe and up 22.6 percent to 266,151 for the year so far. Despite the ongoing rollout of its new vehicles, Mini electric sales shot up by 53 percent.
While BMW’s electric sales went up, Merc’s electrics continued to falter. The company moved 46,900 EVs in Q3, down 31 percent from the year before. Plug-in hybrid model growth was strong, though, climbing 10 percent globally, but most of that growth came from the US market.
Most of the sales struggles at Mercedes-Benz came at the top end of the lineup, S-Class and GLS models. Despite that, AMG model sales were high, up 8 percent in Q3 against the year before. The G-Class was up 2 percent, with the first electric G-Class models delivered to customers in September.
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Benz Crushes BMW In USA
Looking strictly at the US, Benz’s big hike put it ahead of BMW in the country by a wide margin: 85,037 vehicles to 78,824. Adding Mini into the mix brings the BMW Group to 83,412, still behind Benz.
The best-selling BMW was the X3 crossover, which includes its electric counterpart. BMW moved 15,319 copies, up 4.4 percent. The X5 fell from that top spot thanks to a 22.3 percent drop to 12,424. The XM continues to disappoint, being outsold by even the Z4, 307 to 543, with the Z4 taking the lead for the year.
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How The Mercedes-Benz S-Class Lost Its Luxury Car Crown
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class’ grip on the luxury vehicle segment is loosening and its recent sales figures reflect that.
Benz’s best-seller was the GLC, which the company could finally get to dealers. It crushed every BMW X model and climbed 144 percent to 20,302. The GLE was the second-highest-selling Benz at 15,274, up 133 percent, and nearly outselling BMW’s best. Other strong increases came from the GLA, up 668 percent to 6,703 and the new CLA, which climbed 114 percent to 4,717.
BMW did manage to sell more flagship sedans. With 1,770 units moved in the US, the big BMW 7 beat the S-Class at 1,061. For BMW that includes the electric i7, which made up around a quarter of sales of the big sedan.
