- Recent data gathered by JATO Dynamics shows that BMW topped the BEV brand sales chart across Europe, for July.
- 14,869 BMW-branded BEVs were sold across the continent, compared to 14,561 Teslas, and 12,213 Volkswagens.
- However, Tesla still holds the highest number of EVs sold in Europe this year to-date: 178,700, compared to BMW’s 97,525.
According to European registration data, BMW’s cheapest EV so far, the iX1, contributed most heavily to BMW’s record European EV sales figure last month, with 4,305 such models registered, accounting for 29% of the month’s EV sales. The first-class figure only included BMW branded cars, too, not accounting for other EVs from BMW Group brands such as MINI and Rolls-Royce.
The history of BMW’s EV success
Looking back further, BMW and Tesla entered the mass-market EV game at roughly the same time. BMW launched its first modern mass-produced electric car, the BMW i3, in 2013, while the mass-produced Tesla Model S began production in 2012 (excluding the 2008-born Roadster, which was only manufactured in small numbers).
However, Tesla was at a clear advantage at the time – the Model S a four-door saloon with more than double the battery range of the i3, supercar levels of performance, all wrapped up in a package which looked familiar to any other executive car on the road, compared to the more outlandish i3. The fact that the Model S is still being produced today, albeit with a wealth of visual and technological tweaks, is testament to the design of the 2012 debut.
Fast forward to 2024, however, and BMW offers seven distinct electric series, from its flagship i7 luxury saloon to the iX1 compact SUV. That compares to Tesla’s offering of four specific models – technically reduced to just two in the UK, with the discontinuation of the Model S and X in right-hand-drive form.
Where is BMW’s equivalent of the Model 3?
BMW does sell the compact iX1 SUV, which is price matched pretty evenly with Tesla’s Model Y, the best selling car in Europe. The iX1 is also BMW’s best selling EV, however, just 28,940 iX1s were sold in the year-to-date, compared to 111,866 Model Ys. And, despite BMW stealing the top spot from Tesla for monthly EV sales, the brand still does not sell a car priced evenly with the even cheaper Tesla Model 3, which starts at €45,000 / £40,000 in Europe. This would be another lucrative market for BMW, with over 65,000 Model 3s sold in Europe so far this year.
With BMW’s 1 Series yet to be fully electrified, a potential future EV revision could end up being a viable €30,000 / £30,000 EV. For even cheaper EVs, BMW Group also has its MINI brand to turn to – while the new electric Mini certainly isn’t the cheapest electric car available, a budget spinoff could have serious consumer appeal – particularly considering the bargain price of the original Mini.
Overall, however, this shows that a large part of BMW’s electric success in Europe last month can be attributed to the vast number of body shapes and variants it offers. Whilst no model sold in Tesla-sized numbers, the offer of SUVs of all sizes, saloons, luxury cars, estates, and performance models, helped the company to top the podium.
BMW’s long-standing image as a quality car manufacturer also helped it to grow its EV sales so rapidly, by picking up previous customers. The brand recently came second place in a UK brand loyalty survey, with its sibling brand MINI coming first place. Only time will tell whether BMW can maintain its lead in EV sales over the next few months.
