BMW clings to luxury-sales crown as Mercedes narrows gap

BMW outsold rival Mercedes-Benz for the second year in a row by better navigating the supply-chain issues hampering global auto production.

Worldwide deliveries of core BMW-brand cars fell 5 percent to 2.10 million last year, edging Mercedes, whose shipments slipped 1 percent to 2.04 million. Audi sales fell 3.9 percent to 1.61 million.

While BMW and Mercedes both grew sales in the final months of 2022, they could not compensate for business lost during the first half, when parts shortages and the war in Ukraine crimped output.

Automakers have more recently faced intensifying headwinds including soaring energy and borrowing costs.

Tesla shares plummeted amid concerns over demand in China, the world's biggest auto market, where domestic players BYD, Xpeng and Nio are putting increased pressure on the U.S. brand.

BMW, Mercedes and Audi all saw sales drop in China as stringent COVID lockdowns kept customers away from showrooms.

Mercedes heavily discounted the price for its flagship EQS electric sedan last year in a move to reposition in a competitive market.

Deliveries of electric vehicles were a bright spot for the German companies as they rolled out new EVs and sought to comply with tightening emissions regulations.

At BMW Group, including Mini, sales of EVs such as the BMW i4 sedan and electric derivative off the Mini Cooper helped the company more than double sales to 215,755.

Mercedes also more than doubled EV sales, to 117,800 units, and said full-electric and plug-in hybrid models accounted for 15 percent of total shipments.

Audi’s EV deliveries rose 44 percent last year to 118,196.

“We will maintain our course for profitable growth in 2023,” BMW’s sales chief Pieter Nota said in the statement. “The clear focus will be on ramping up electromobility.”