BMW holds the title as Malaysia’s best-selling premium automaker for its fourth year in the row.
To say 2023 has been good to BMW Group Malaysia is perhaps an understatement, as the automotive group has recently celebrated yet another year of being the top of the sales chart in the premium segment over here. With over 15,000 BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad deliveries made over the last 12 months, this stellar annual sales result was more than enough to comfortably cement its sales crown for the fourth consecutive year.
Though perhaps even more impressively too with the recent stiff competition from the likes of Tesla and smart, BMW Group Malaysia nevertheless still managed to successfully cement their leading position as the top-selling premium EV marque locally. The 3,600 units of fully-electric BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad vehicles delivered in 2023 sees it to be an exponential growth of 136% from the year prior, but the more astounding inference from this aforementioned figure is that EVs accounted for a whopping quarter of the group’s overall sales over here this year.
Delving deeper into the individual brands within the BMW Group now, the conglomerate’s namesake marque saw through the successful deliveries of nearly 11,700 premium luxury vehicles in 2023. MINI meanwhile recorded a formidable growth of 42% with more than 1,700 vehicles delivered, with BMW Motorrad on the other hand seeing its deliveries of over 1,500 motorcycles equate to an upwards growth of 13% from the previous year. Overall, total deliveries across the BMW Group portfolio increased by about 4% in 2023 relative to 2022 figures.
Underpinning the success of the BMW portfolio was the delivery of over 2,600 units of 3 Series in 2023, with the 320i M Sport coming out on top as the premium automaker’s best-seller for the year. Additionally, their X range of Sports Activity Vehicles (SAVs) saw an impressive 4,031 units delivered in 2023, with the X5 cinching the top spot with nearly 1,300 deliveries.
Followed closely behind the X5 is its X3 and X4 smaller siblings, which both saw over 1,000 deliveries fulfilled throughout the year. With the introduction of the new, locally assembled sDrive20i xLine too, BMW’s most compact SAV, the X1, series also saw encouraging growth, with over 500 units having made their way to new owners in 2023.
Rather interestingly, BMW had incidentally managed to shift that same 500 unit figure of its M cars in Malaysia over the last year. And as for the other end of the spectrum from these performance-oriented Bavarian bruisers, the iX xDrive 40 delivered in 2023 was to be the German marque’s best-selling EV over here for last year with over 1,100 units sold.
Now as for MINI, its outstanding growth within the local market was once again attributed to the high demand of the Countryman. The adventurous all-rounder saw 1,086 deliveries fulfilled in 2023, accounting for over 62% of deliveries for the MINI portfolio. The MINI Electric also was a highlight within the brand’s local sales chart over the last 12 months, with it accounting for 1 in every four vehicles that it had delivered to Malaysians last year.
Rounding up the core brands here is BMW Motorrad, who saw over 700 riders commanding the roads on new Adventure motorcycles in 2023. The success of this segment was attributed to the R 1250 GS Adventure at over 400 units, with the Tour segment following behind at over 200 motorcycles led by the R 1250 RT.
BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia had reported as well for over 5,000 BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad financed to be financed through it in 2023, including over 1,100 fully electric vehicles. This equated to over 32% of vehicles delivered last year, with over 2,400 contracts being funded digitally. BMW & MINI Easy Drive financing programmes also saw a 40% year-on-year growth in contracts signed.
In 2023, BMW Group Malaysia emerged as well as one of the Top 3 countries in the world of the BMW Group for their net promoter score across all three brands, with a score of 98 for the MINI brand and 97 for both the BMW and BMW Motorrad brands, in terms of sales, a feat achieved by the strong support and commitment from the premium automaker’s network of dealers and loyal customer base. In terms of service, the net promoter score for both BMW and BMW Motorrad is 97, while MINI achieved 98.
Speaking at the Group’s 2024 business briefing at Auto Bavaria Balakong, Pierre Jalady, Vice President, Head of MINI region Asia, Eastern Europe, Middle-East, Africa said, “There truly has been no better way to close over two decades of the BMW Group in Malaysia than seeing the exemplary performance of our vehicles in the local premium automotive market. We have seen the remarkable growth of our electrifying BMW i fleet, especially through the introduction of the iX1, the iX, i7, the MINI Electric and the first-ever electrified addition in the Urban Mobility space, the CE04. The acceptance of these vehicles allowed us to achieve the title of the Number One Premium Electric Vehicles provider in Malaysia, an achievement that we do not take lightly as it underscores our goal to shape, lead, and future-proof the Malaysian automotive landscape in the years to come with the newest technological offerings from the BMW Group.”
Jalady added that as the premium automaker reflects on its achievements of the past year and set sights on the horizon of 2024, he must extend his highest appreciation to the dedicated teams at BMW Group Malaysia as well as their dealer partner, loyal customers and relevant stakeholders who continue to drive innovation and unparalleled joy of Sheer Driving Pleasure into the future.
BMW Group’s performance in Malaysia reflects that of the brand’s global success with over 2,500,000 vehicles delivered across its portfolio worldwide – a new all-time high sales record. The performance of electrified vehicles from the group portfolio also grew exponentially in 2023, attributing to 15% of overall BMW Group deliveries – underlining the pioneering role the premium automaker has in the electric vehicle segment worldwide.
2023 introduced 19 new models and variants to the ever-expanding BMW Group Malaysia portfolio, eight of which were fully electric vehicles. Among the fully electric vehicles introduced was the embodiment of the ‘Forwardism’ concept, the i7, and the eagerly anticipated i5.
In their efforts to further catalyse the progressive adoption of electric vehicles meanwhile, BMW Group Malaysia continued to maximise efforts in accelerating their public charging network nationwide throughout 2023. To date, the automotive group has made over 1,700 charging facilities available in its network to its customers, with access to over 400 of these facilities provided through strategic partnerships with ChargEV and Yinson Greentech, while their partnership with JomCharge enables access to over 100 charging facilities, Gentari with over 150 facilities as well as approximately 160 facilities from new partners such as ChargeN’Go, ChargeSini, Go To-U and FlexiParking.
By fostering meaningful partnerships with influential industry leaders, BMW Group Malaysia pledges to remain committed in its mission to shape the future of mobility in the country. Additionally, as of the year 2023, over 100 BMW i and MINI charging facilities are also available at most authorised dealerships, as well as partnering venues across the country, with plans to further expand upon the strategic infrastructure of its network for 2024.
