BMW Motorrad has released its yearly figures for 2018, and the report is mostly positive. Sales worldwide were up a very modest 0.9% for the year (165,566 in total unit sales), and this does mean that 2018 was the German company’s eighth year in row of growth.
The news was good for BMW Motorrad USA as well, with the American subsidiary showing a 2.2% bump in sales (13,842 units) compared to 2017, thanks primarily to the company’s introduction of the K1600 Grand America.
The GS continues to be king for BMW, with 51,000 of the GS and GS Adventure variants of the R1200 and R1250 motorcycles sold in 2018.
This is a new record for BMW Motorrad, and the company saw an impressive 84,500 R-series motorcycles sold in 2018. BMW says that the R nineT family played a strong role in helping achieve such a large sales figure of the R-series of its motorcycles.
The K-series showed strong growth for 2018, with the K1600 Grand America helping push the six-cylinder lineup to a 25% sales increase, with 8,306 units sold. The tourer did especially well in the US market (for which it was designed), and BMW plans to create more motorcycles that have a particular focus on the needs for the American rider.
For its sport bike lineup, BMW Motorrad reports that 18,773 units of its S1000RR, S1000R, and S1000XR models were sold worldwide.
BMW Motorrad’s largest markets continue to be in Europe, with Germany (-11% / 23,824 units), France (0% / 16,615 units), Italy (-2% / 14,110 units), and Spain (0% / 11,124 units) leading the charge. Also, the UK sold a respectable 9,224 units.
The growth centers for the brand though were China (+35% / 7,561 units) and Brazil (+11% / 7,361 units), with India showing strong sales as well with 2,187 units sold in 2018.
Looking ahead to 2019, BMW Motorrad expects strong results from its revamped R-series lineup with their ShiftCam motors, as well as its new S1000RR superbike, which will race in WorldSBK this season.
The company hopes to sell 200,000 units or more in the 2020 model year, though that figure seems optimistic considering the current sales growth pace, and the forecast for the world economy, but time will tell.
Source: BMW Motorrad
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