BMW tops Mercedes, Audi in global EV sales

BMW beat its German premium rivals by a wide margin when it comes to full-electric vehicle sales in 2022, completing its sweep over Mercedes-Benz and Audi after it beat them both to rank as the world's top-selling premium brand last year.

Helped by models such as the i4 and the recently added i7 EV flagship sedan, BMW increased battery-electric vehicle sales 148 percent to 172,011 last year.

The brand's best-seller, however, was the full-electric iX3 with a volume of 55,136 units.

Audi, meanwhile, edged Mercedes by fewer than 400 global sales for second place.

Audi's EV deliveries rose 44 percent last year while Mercedes more than doubled sales of full-electric models (see table, below).

In a statement, Audi sales boss Hildegard Wortmann said the automaker saw high demand for its Q4 E-tron and E-tron GT quattro. Audi has already received many preorders for the new Q8 E-tron, which replaces the E-tron, ahead of its market launch in spring, she said.

Starting in 2026, Audi will only introduce all-electric cars to the global market.

Volvo was fourth among the European brands with nearly 67,000 sales of its C40 and XC40 EVs.

Volvo sister brand Polestar increase sales 80 percent to 51,500, based on its preliminary estimates.

BMW's sister brand Mini sold nearly 44,000 EVs in 2022, a decline of 1.3 percent on 2021.The Mini Cooper SE accounted for all of the brand's full-electric sales.

While the European brands all significantly increased their EV volumes, they continue to compete for second place again Tesla.

Based on just its 11-month sales in Europe, Tesla's volume was at 176,302, according to figures from market researcher Dataforce.