KUALA LUMPUR: BMW Group Malaysia has surpassed pre-pandemic business performance with over 14,400 units of BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad vehicles delivered in 2022 – of which over 70% are locally assembled, cementing its leading position in the premium segment in Malaysia for three years in a row.
Over 31% of all BMW and MINI deliveries were electrified vehicles in 2022, adding to a total of over 25,000 units of electrified BMW Group Malaysia vehicles on the road to date.
With over 37% in growth compared to the same period from the year before, the BMW brand delivered over 11,800 vehicles, while MINI recorded an upward of 25% with over 1,300 units delivered.
Meanwhile, BMW Motorrad delivered over 1,300 motorcycles, recording a growth of over 20%. These equate to an increase of over 34% in total deliveries across the BMW Group portfolio from the year before.
The success of the BMW portfolio was led by a delivery of over 2,300 units of 3 Series in 2022, with the 320i Sport being the key contributor.
The 2 Series became a new favourite with 1,357 units delivered – led by the 218i Gran Coupé; followed closely by the 5 Series at 1,328 deliveries, of which more than half were of the 530i M Sport variant.
The BMW portfolio also more than doubled the deliveries of the X family of Sports Activity Vehicles (SAVs) in 2022 to over 5,100 units.
The X3 reflected this upward trajectory and took top spot for the X range with over 1,300 deliveries following a successful introduction of three new, locally assembled variants in 2022, including the electrified X3 xDrive30e M Sport.
The X1 and X5 followed closely with over 1,200 and 1,100 units delivered respectively.
MINI’s success in the local market was led by the Countryman. With over 800 units delivered, the adventure-ready model accounted for over 65% of deliveries for the MINI portfolio.
Electrified mobility continues to grow with MINI as well in 2022, where over 24% of MINI vehicles delivered were electrified. This marks a growth of over 83% in deliveries compared to the same period last year.
BMW Motorrad also inspired more Malaysians to ride in 2022, where over 700 chose to do so with the adventure motorcycles. The success of this segment was contributed by the R 1250 GS Adventure at over 340 units. The sports segment saw a delivery of over 230 motorcycles led by the G 310 GS.
BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia also celebrated success with over 5,000 BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad financed in 2022, equating to over 35% vehicles delivered last year.
Over 2,800 contracts were funded digitally last year. The BMW Easy Drive financing programme also saw a 100% growth as it doubled in contracts signed. Healthy penetration rates of 32% for the BMW brand, 31% for the MINI brand and 59% for BMW Motorrad were also recorded last year.
The market’s reception of electrified vehicles was successfully exemplified with the delivery of over 4,000 electrified BMW and MINI in 2022 alone, of which over 31% were fully electric.
The BMW i portfolio was led by deliveries of the iX, which saw over 970 new owners.
To facilitate the progressive adoption of electric vehicles, BMW Group Malaysia also continued to accelerate its public charging network nationwide throughout 2022.
To date, BMW Group Malaysia provides BMW and MINI EV owners with access to over 610 charging facilities nationwide.
Existing partnerships with ChargEV provide BMW and MINI EV owners with access to over 330 charging stations – including the 26 charging facilities powered by ChargEV and Yinson GreenTech at 17 Starbucks stores within Klang Valley, Penang, Malacca and Johor.
BMW Group Malaysia has also partnered with JomCharge to enable access to over 65 charging stations, and Gentari with 117 charging stations nationwide.
Over 80 BMW i charging facilities are also available at most authorised BMW and MINI dealerships across the country, with a strategic infrastructure expansion plan already in place for 2023.
Beyond introducing new BMW i models and services, the automaker also ensured an EV-ready workforce through the BMW High Voltage Expert Certification, as part of its long-term commitment to upskilling the local automotive talents through transfer of technological know-how from across the BMW Group.
With strong assembly capabilities anchored in Kulim, Kedah, over 11,200 BMW and MINI vehicles delivered last year were assembled here, of which more than 2,500 were electrified.
In mid-2022, BMW Group Malaysia also celebrated its 100,000 th vehicle assembled milestone at the BMW assembly plant in Kulim, with the assembly of the new electrified X3 – a significant achievement for the organisation in its 19th year of business in the country.
This performance also cemented BMW Group Malaysia’s role as the largest premium automotive exporter in Malaysia.
It is also the largest automotive exporter with over 6,700 deliveries to neighbouring countries including Thailand and the Philippines.
Last year saw 17 model variant introductions from the BMW Group portfolio, of which three were all-new fully-electric i vehicles presented at NEXTGen Malaysia – a three-day conference on sustainability by BMW Group Malaysia in January last year.
This year will see an expansion of the BMW Group’s product line-up in Malaysia, coupled with new sustainability undertakings in collaboration with key industry players.
“Our achievements in 2022 have been nothing short of extraordinary as we not only matched but far surpassed our performance from even before the Covid-19 pandemic," said BMW Group Malaysia managing director Hans de Visser.
"While we experienced a slowdown in 2020 and the chip shortage in most parts of 2021, 2022 has been a stellar year of recovery and growth for BMW Group Malaysia, as we re-emerge from the challenges of the last two years stronger than we have ever been."
“As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of BMW Group Malaysia this year, we are reminded that it is our ambition and strategies for the Malaysian automotive sector that has brought us here today; not just to become the leading automaker in the premium segment, but also an established market leader for electrified vehicles in the country."
The local achievement reflects that of the brand’s global success, as close to 2,400,000 vehicles across the BMW Group portfolio, including Rolls-Royce, were delivered to customers globally.
The performance of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from the BMW Group portfolio more than doubled in 2022 with over 215,000 units to achieve a 108% growth, reflecting a strong uptake of electrified mobility across the globe.
Maintaining their No. 1 position in the global premium segment, the BMW brand delivered a total of 2,100,000 units worldwide, while MINI delivered over 290,000 units and BMW Motorrad over 202,000 units. Rolls-Royce also reported its highest deliveries in its 118-year history, which saw over 6,000 units delivered globally.
