BMW struggles to maintain its title as the king of luxury cars

Author | Wang Xiaojun

Editor | Zhou Zhiyu

After a year of losses on the internet, BMW's performance is not as dire as described.

Recently, BMW Group announced its sales data for the entire year of 2024. The data shows that BMW Group sold a total of 2.4508 million new cars, a year-on-year decline of 4%. Among them, the BMW brand sold 2.2 million units, a decrease of 2.3% year-on-year; the MINI brand sold 244,000 units, a year-on-year drop of 17.1%.

Especially in the Chinese market, BMW delivered 714,500 cars last year, a year-on-year decline of 13.4%. However, by "exchanging price for volume," BMW still maintained its title as the top-selling luxury brand.

In light of this performance, BMW had already anticipated the outcome. BMW Group stated: "Although the delivery volume in the first half of 2024 remained flat year-on-year, the sales in the second half were affected by the IBS braking system and the sluggish Chinese market, leading to a revision of the annual sales forecast."

Of course, from the detailed data, there are still some noteworthy points.

Last year, BMW's pure electric models sold 426,600 units, a year-on-year increase of 13.5%, and both the BMW and MINI brands achieved double-digit growth in electric vehicle sales. BMW's pure electric models sold 368,500 units, an increase of 11.6%; the MINI brand sold 5,620 pure electric vehicles, a year-on-year growth of 24.3%.

Interestingly, despite the general skepticism in the market regarding top luxury brands transitioning to new energy, the Rolls-Royce brand delivered 1,890 pure electric vehicles last year, a year-on-year increase of 479.6%, accounting for one-third of Rolls-Royce's total sales. This increase in model sales also allowed Rolls-Royce to set a new sales record.

The main challenge still lies in the rapidly changing Chinese market.

Since last year, BMW, like many joint venture partners, has been mired in a price war. Although there have been several attempts to escape the price war, transaction prices have struggled to return to previous years, with even entry-level models priced below 200,000 yuan for an extended period.

As domestic brands have entered the market with a stronger stance, many have set their sights on the BBA market, naturally impacting BMW, and some dealers have even started to switch sides, selling brands like Aito that are similarly positioned in the luxury market. BMW's "exchanging price for volume" is also a reluctant move.

From the rhythm of new car launches, BMW is also intensively playing its cards to maintain its market position.

For example, while entry-level models are responsible for volume, BMW heavily promoted high-performance models from the M series and other high-priced models at major auto shows last year, and the sales of these models remain relatively stable. In 2024, BMW M high-performance models continue to be the best-selling in their segment; more than half of the core products in the BMW X family rank first in their respective luxury SAV segments, with nearly 90,000 units of the domestically produced BMW X5 delivered throughout the year.

In 2025, BMW has some chips to play. BMW stated that over 10 new BMW models and several new MINI and BMW motorcycle products will be launched in China, including the all-new BMW X3 long-wheelbase version and the all-new BMW M235L four-door coupe In addition, BMW has long been rolling out its electrification and intelligence initiatives aimed at the future.

In the first three quarters of 2024, BMW Group's R&D expenditure reached €6.642 billion, an increase of 27% compared to the same period in 2023. These investments are primarily focused on three areas: first, the electrification and digitalization of vehicle models; second, the field of autonomous driving; and third, the development of new models, including the new generation of BMW vehicles.

Previously, at the Guangzhou Auto Show, BMW showcased its intelligent capabilities with the new BMW 5 Series equipped with the "Vehicle-Road-Cloud Integration" V2X module, which began mass production in Shenyang in January. This marks BMW's first model equipped with V2X technology.

At the recently concluded 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the United States, BMW introduced the panoramic iDrive, which features the fully self-developed BMW new generation operating system X, with 70% of its source code developed and optimized in China, making it more aligned with the usage habits of Chinese users.

In terms of intelligent driving, the new generation of models will be equipped with BMW's latest generation of driving assistance systems, with deep involvement from the BMW China R&D team, and will also integrate AI large language models to optimize the user experience of the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant.

For BMW, the current decline in sales is an inevitable process that must be experienced during the transformation. However, as long as it is determined to transform and join the wave of electrification and intelligence to meet market demands, sales will inevitably rebound.

This has already been proven by China's established traditional car manufacturers. After all, new energy vehicles have entered a stage of normal consumption, and consumers do not want to buy unfinished vehicles, so they will inevitably choose large companies and well-known brands, which is also an opportunity for BMW.

Therefore, BMW's greater counterattack still requires a more thorough transformation and models that better meet the needs of Chinese users.

As the year has turned, BMW's new generation models have come closer. According to previous news, the first batch of new generation electric test models from BMW has rolled off the production line at the Hungarian factory, marking its entry into the final preparation stage before the official mass production launch at the end of 2025. The first domestically produced new generation model will roll off the production line at BMW's Shenyang Tiexi factory in 2026 and will begin selling.

The market has already fully anticipated the new generation models. Whether the products can gain market recognition at that time will be the best verification of BMW's strength. Dawn is approaching, and BMW still needs to maintain its current market position