BMW Becomes Top Luxury Car Seller In USA For Third Consecutive Year, Beats Lexus, Mercedes

Luxury Cars: BMW sold around 60,000 more units than second-ranked Mercedes, in 2021. The difference was much less in 2020 when the industry was heavily impacted by falling demand and supply chain issues due to the pandemic.

New Delhi: Once again, BMW has emerged as the top luxury car seller in the US. It outsold its rivals Mercedes and Lexus in 2021 to keep the throne for the third consecutive year. According to a report by Bloomberg, the carmaker is trying to fight the chip shortage in the auto industry and doing it better than its eternal rivals. BMW saw a rise of 21 per cent in its car sales, whereas Mercedes saw less than 1 per cent growth.

BMW sold around 60,000 more units than second-ranked Mercedes, in 2021. The difference was much less in 2020 when the industry was heavily impacted by falling demand and supply chain issues due to pandemic-induced lockdowns across the globe.

Performance Aided By Good Semiconductor Management

The auto sector has been plagued by the semiconductor shortage since the pandemic shook up the world. According to the report, the 2021 performance of BMW was aided by the company’s decision to maintain its semiconductor orders. Unlike most of the companies that cut back their orders, BMW kept its bullish stance.

The report also said that Toyota outperformed General Motors to become the top seller in the USA because it could navigate through the shortage adeptly. BMW too succeeded because of its good management.

The report quoted Pieter Nota, a board member at BMW, saying that the chip crunch is going to continue for the next few months and it may ease up only towards the ending of the year.

Focus On Electric Vehicles

BMW also expects, according to Bloomberg, a rise in demand after it launches an electric iX sedan this year. The model will battle Tesla Inc.’s cars and tap into the growing EV market.

Nota also said that the demand for EVs is picking up fast and the company aims to sell 2,00,000 e-vehicles in 2022. BMW sold 1,00,000 e-cars in 2021.

In companies like Volkswagen and Porsche, the demand for electric vehicles has shown an uptick in 2021. Porsche’s Taycan doubled its sales of electric vehicles in 2021, the report added.