May sales for BMWNA were down 11% compared to the same May 2016. And that was even with one more sales day this year compared to last. Overall  US light vehicle sales dropped 0.5%, giving further evidence that the overall US sales party is over after 9 years growth.

But there is more bad news in the numbers: Mercedes-Benz increased its sales lead to more than 25,500 units despite being down 6.8%. And the drop at M-B isn’t expected to last long. They are having shortages of the GLC and GLA which are expected to increase availability quickly. And Lexus was a mere 417 units behind BMW, further rubbing salt into the wound. BMW was at the bottom of Matt’s Luxury Index, that was down a scant 0.3%. The big three of the luxury market (M-B, BMW and Lexus) all shrank, and all the smaller luxury marks grew.

Within BMW, the good news is limited to the 5-series, the X1 and the X3. Yes, the X4 also grew by what looks like a healthy 9.4%, but since that only represents 35 vehicles, the growth isn’t really that significant in terms of brand sales.

Official News Version Woodcliff Lake, NJ June 1, 2017… Sales of BMW brand vehicles decreased 11.0 percent in May for a total of 25,818 compared to 29,017 vehicles sold in May 2016. Year-to-date, the BMW brand is down 3.6 percent in the U.S. on sales of 120,124 vehicles compared to 124,581 sold in the first five months of 2016.

Notable vehicle sales in May include the BMW 5 Series which increased 12.7 percent to 3,677 cars, the BMW X1 which increased 12.6 percent to 2,489 vehicles, and the BMW X3 which increased 21.7 percent to 4,011 vehicles.

“Our all-new BMW 5 Series is now showing its strength as availability increases and production begins to match demand,” said Bernhard Kuhnt, President and CEO, BMW of North America. “At the same time, demand for BMW Sports Activity Vehicles remains solid with the X1 and the X3 delivering the standout numbers for May.”

BMW Group Sales
In total, the BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) reported May sales of 29,878 vehicles, a decrease of 11.1 percent from the 33,612 vehicles sold in the same month a year ago. Year-to-date, BMW Group sales are down 4.8 percent on sales of 137,916 vehicles in the first five months of 2017 compared to 144,811 in the same period in 2016.

BMW Pre-Owned Vehicles

  • Sales of BMW Certified Pre-Owned set a May record with 12,698 vehicles, an increase of 18.9 percent from May 2016.
  • Total BMW Pre-Owned sales also set a May record with 20,245 vehicles, an increase of 15.7 percent from May 2016.
  • Total BMW Pre-Owned cars sold year-to-date were 101,036, a 24.2 percent increase from the first five months of 2016.