BMW M GmbH extended its lead over Mercedes-AMG 2020 with another record year. BMW M’s worldwide sales report shows 144,218 units sold in 2020, exceeding the record set in the previous year by 5.9 percent, despite the corona pandemic. Naturally, all automakers were affected by COVID-19, so it comes as no surprise that Mercedes-AMG had a decrease in sales. The Affalterbach-based competitor sold 125,129 units, 5.3 percent less than in 2019.

BMW’s lead last year extended by over 19,000 vehicles. The gap was certainly narrower in 2019 with just 3,700 more units sold by BMW.  The significant gap increase is also noteworthy against the background that the best-sellers BMW M2, M3 and M4 were at the end of their life cycle in 2020 and were not available all year round in most or all markets.

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The new X5 M and X6 M SUVs certainly contributed to the BMW M record sales, with a high demand seen in the United States. Of course, the sales report also counts the M Performance Automobiles where BMW has several high-selling products, like the M340i, M340d or the X3 M40i. The M Performance Automobiles sub-division has been one of the fastest growing within the company in the last few years.

New products will join the M lineup in 2021, including the highly controversial G80 M3 and G82 M4. The M440i Coupe and Convertible will also become available in all markets around the world. Despite its polarizing design, we expect that the new M3 and M4 to exceed the sales of the previous F80/F82 generations. For the first time, the new M brothers will be offered with an all-wheel drive component which will likely bring new customers to the brand.

Naturally, the purists will still enjoy a six- speed manual – in some markets – so retaining the core fan base might be achievable.

[Source: BimmerToday]