BERLIN -- BMW Group delivered 2.4 million vehicles in 2022, down 4.8 percent from the year before, with BMW brand sales down 5.1 percent as supply chain bottlenecks caused by lockdowns in China and the war in Ukraine dampened sales.
Fourth-quarter volume was a bright spot, with sales up 11 percent as bottlenecks eased, the automaker said in a statement on Tuesday.
Sales of full-electric vehicles performed well in 2022, more than doubling to 215,755 for the year, BMW said.
"We are confident we can build on this success in 2023, as we continue to see particularly high order intake for our fully-electric models," said Pieter Nota, BMW's sales chief.
Group sales, which include the Mini and Rolls-Royce brands, fell 6.4 percent in China to 791,985 last year. In Europe, volume was down 7.5 percent to 877,369. U.S. deliveries were relatively stable, dropping 1.3 percent to 361,892.
Europe and China were hardest hit by supply chain troubles that curbed output, particularly in the first half.
BMW weathered the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic better than competitors, achieving record sales in 2021, but suffered in 2022 as supply chain problems persisted.
The automaker has so far offset the dip in sales volumes with higher prices, with third-quarter profits rising in 2022.
New retail model
BMW also said on Tuesday it was moving to a direct sales model in 24 European markets, with agents acting as sales representatives, it said, with the aim of reaching out to "new, online-savvy customer target groups."
The Mini brand will be sold via this model from 2024, with the BMW brand to follow in 2026.
Automotive News Europe contributed to this report
