BMW driven to the top of the premium sales charts by record electric sales
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One-in-three BMWs sold in Australia in 2024 was electric as record sales pushed the German car maker ahead of Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Lexus.
A new sales record saw almost one-third of all BMWs sold in Australia in 2024 battery electric vehicles, powering the German car brand into positive sales territory while rivals' sales fell.
A total of 7787 battery-electric BMWs were sold in Australia over the past 12 months, making up 29.6 per cent of its total sales – breaking BMW previous record set in 2023 – and enough to see it outsell rival car maker Mercedes-Benz.
With 26,341 total sales BMW outsold Mercedes-Benz by 6242 last year, meaning BMW's electric vehicle sales pushed it to the front of the premium brand battle between the two German makes as well as Audi and Lexus.
Having posted a 0.6 per cent rise overall – against a total new vehicle market increasing only 0.3 per cent – BMW was the only one of the four brands to record a sales gain in 2024.
MORE: Electric car sales growth in Australia hits the brakes amid Tesla slump in 2024
The car maker's gain was primarily driven by its battery-electric models.
Its most popular electric car was the BMW iX1 SUV – which sold 2618 for the year – the sixth-best selling electric car of all makes, beaten only by models from mainstream brands Tesla, MG and BYD.
The BMW i4 was the next-best selling electric BMW, its 2062 sales outselling the Mercedes-Benz C-Class line-up (1941 sales).
The i4's success was driven by the addition of a more affordable entry-level e35 in mid-2024, priced below the Luxury Car Tax threshold, which made up the majority of sale for the year.
The BMW iX2 SUV was the third-best seller – essentially the sports version of the iX1 SUV but with a swooping coupe-like roofline.
Mercedes-Benz's most popular battery-electric vehicle was the EQA SUV, but with 1044 sales was only the 18th most popular electric car – outsold by four different electric BMWs.
MORE: Australia's best-selling electric cars in 2024: Every model listed
Audi's Q4 e-tron SUV sold 357 units as its highest volume electric vehicle – although it did not arrive in showrooms until mid-year, making its ranking of 34th of all electric vehicle sales not a true reflection if its success.
The Lexus RZ SUV was the Japanese brand's best-selling electric model and the 22nd most popular overall with 215 sales – down from 265 in 2023.
BMW's hybrid models contributed 471 sales in addition to the battery-electric volume, with the BMW X3 hybrid due in Australian showrooms in 2025.
The next generation of BMW electric cars – dubbed 'Neue Klasse' – is to be unveiled in late 2025.
BMW launched its first battery-electric car in Australia in 2014, when the BMW i3 hatch was introduced, also including a range-extender version using a motorcycle engine from BMW's Motorrad department.
The post BMW driven to the top of the premium sales charts by record electric sales appeared first on Drive.
