German carmaker BMW Group reported a 1.4% decline in global vehicle sales in the first quarter of 2025 citing the economic slowdown in China, the company said in a statement Thursday.
BMW Group sold 586,149 vehicles from January to March, down 1.4% compared to the same period last year.
Sales of the group’s core BMW brand dropped 2% to 520,142 year-on-year.
Despite the overall decline, the German manufacturer’s electric vehicle sales surged by 28.5% compared to the same period last year, reaching 157,495.
In Germany, where the company is based, BMW sales fell by 1.3% to 61,264 vehicles.
In the same period, vehicle deliveries to China, the company’s largest market (including sales of the Mini brand), decreased notably by 17.2% to 155,195.
Sales in the Americas, however, grew by 5.4% reaching 114,313 units, 94,591 of which were in the US.
“The BMW Group’s technology-open strategy is proving successful. Our products are winning over customers worldwide across all drive technologies, with positive momentum driven, in particular, by the new MINI models-especially the fully-electric variants,” said Jochen Goller, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG.
“We are feeling confident, thanks to significant growth in new orders across all drive technologies, particularly in our domestic market of Germany,” he added.
China’s economic caution amid global trade tensions is also impacting other German luxury automakers, including Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen Group, whose sales have similarly been affected.