Electric vehicle sales by BMW rise in Europe but fall globally

In the first three months of 2026, the BMW group delivered 87,458 fully electric vehicles worldwide, a notable decline of 20.1 percent compared with the 109,516 units sold in the same period of 2025.

In this regard, it is important to point out that although 2025 closed with more than 442 thousand electric vehicle deliveries from the group and a slight annual growth, the quarterly trend already showed signs of weakness. The first quarter of 2026 thus marks the second consecutive decline in electric vehicle sales, signaling a clear cooling after years of expansion.

The Bavarian firm attributes this drop to external factors that have also affected other manufacturers. In the United States, the elimination of the tax credit for electric vehicles has noticeably reduced demand, while in China the end of several subsidy programs at the close of 2025 also had an effect on sales. Nevertheless, and despite this, BMW achieved results in the Chinese market above the sector average.

Cycle change

It should also be noted that the Bavarian firm is in the middle of its transition to its new generation of electric vehicles based on the Neue Klasse. For several months it had no mid-size electric SUV on the market, since production of the previous iX3 ended and the new model only began deliveries in March, in limited quantities. Likewise, although the i4 continues to sell, its acceptance among the public is no longer as strong as its commercial cycle nears its end.

This has been clearly demonstrated in the European market, where the new iX3 is now on sale and has generated great expectation among fans of the brand and many others who had never driven a BMW in their lives. In this market, orders for electric vehicles grew by around 40 percent compared with the first quarter of 2025, and more than 50 thousand orders for the iX3 alone have been registered since the configurator opened.

In total, the BMW group delivered 565,748 vehicles from its three brands in the first quarter of the year -BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce- which represents a 3.5 percent decrease from the previous year. Pure electric vehicles accounted for 15.5 percent of the total. Adding plug-in hybrids, electrified sales reached 132,518 units.