BMW and Mercedes Start the Year With Worldwide Sales Records

April 8, 2021

A year after German luxury-car makers’ bleakest period in decades, business has never been better.

BMW AG on Thursday joined rival Mercedes-Benz in reporting record first-quarter vehicle deliveries, driven largely by explosive demand in China. Both are also getting big boosts from newly introduced plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles.

Sales of BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles surged more than a third to 636,606 in the quarter, the Munich-based manufacturer said in a statement. Deliveries in China almost doubled, and with the iX SUV and i4 coupe rolling out over the course of the year, the company is on track to hand over more than 100,000 fully electric vehicles to customers in 2021.

Mercedes brand sales jumped 22% to 581,270, with Daimler AG’s main division posting a 60% jump in China deliveries. The company has received around 20,000 orders for the all-electric EQA compact and will debut three other EVs this year, starting with the flagship EQS sedan next week.

Source: Bloomberg
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