BMW More than Doubled Its EV Sales in 2021

• BMW more than doubled its sales of battery-electric vehicles in 2021 over 2020, delivering 103,855 EVs globally.

• Mini is showing evidence of strong buyer reception to electric models, with one in three buyers of three-door Cooper models picking the battery-electric version.

• Two new models going on sale shortly will boost BMW's EV offerings, with the i4 and iX arriving at US dealers in a matter of weeks.

Yet another German automaker is racing ahead when it comes to EVs, with Munich-based BMW revealing this week that sales of its battery-electric models surged 133% in the past year, with 103,855 EVs delivered globally.

"Our brands reported numerous all-time best sales results around the globe—spearheaded by the BMW brand, which is number one in the global premium segment," said Pieter Nota, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible. "With more than 100,000 fully electric vehicles sold last year, ramping up electromobility was our clear focus."

How well did the BMW Group's EVs sell last year?

When it comes to the BMW brand itself, the EV sales leader was the iX3, which is not available stateside. BMW managed to sell 37,939 units of the sport utility, noting that approximately one in 10 X3s sold in the world was of the battery-electric model.

The BMW i3, now in its ninth year, came in second with 28,216 vehicles finding homes, which actually represented a 5.4% boost over the previous year. The nearly decade-old i3 is experiencing a late-in-life surge, likely due to the sheer demand for electrics in Europe, where it's competing with the likes of the Volkswagen ID.3 and some other small hatches.

Speaking of small hatches, the Mini Electric has been a solid success in its relatively short time on sale, with about one in three buyers of three-door Cooper models opting for the battery-electric versions. In fact, the Mini Electric has become the Mini lineup's highest-volume model, enjoying growth of 98.2% worldwide in 2021 with 34,851 units sold.

"In 2022 we want to continue our profitable growth and we will systematically expand our range of fully electric vehicles. We have set ourselves particularly ambitious growth targets in this area and aim to more than double our sales of fully-electric vehicles from last year," Nota added.

We should note that 2021 results were tallied just as the BMW i4 and iX debuted in production form, so BMW did not have the benefit of these two very important electric models in 2021 until very late in the year. As such, the BEV results at the end of 2022 will look very different, and will also be helped by the debut of the battery-electric BMW 7-Series and X1 later this year. The next-generation 7-Series itself will be offered in gasoline, battery-electric, and plug-in hybrid versions, with the battery-electric model set to be badged as the BMW i7. The electric flagship sedan will be revealed toward the middle of the year.

With the first US customer deliveries of the i4 and the iX scheduled for March, ahead of the debuts of the i7 and the electric X1, 2022 will be the most important year for battery-electric models from Munich, ahead of the arrival of the electric 5-Series in 2023.

"By 2023, the company will have at least one fully electric model on the roads in about 90 percent of its current market segments. Over the next 10 years or so, the company plans to sell a total of about 10 million fully electric vehicles," the automaker added.