Cars and Drivers

BMW Is the World's Largest Premier Car Company, Maybe

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: January 10, 2020 6:30 am

BMW Group has announced that it is the world’s largest luxury car company, based on 2019 sales. The company owns the BMW, Rolls Royce and Mini brands. Overall sales reached a record 2,520,307, up 1.2% from 2018.

The most carefully watched part of BMW sales are those of the flagship BMW brand. Its sales rose 2.0% to 2,168,516 units. Presumably, that means it bested Daimler Mercedes-Benz, which is the only company that can claim to come close to BMW. This is where the claims become confusing: Mercedes-Benz delivered 2,339,562 cars last year, up 1.3% year over year.

The two sets of announcements show ways that car companies produce sales numbers, which often appear created to build an impression of success. BMW’s corporate numbers include all its vehicles. That bumps its number higher.

The same thing happens when the U.S. car manufacturers put out gross sales figures. They include fleet sales and not just those to the general public. Some cars have “their best month in years” or “their best year ever.” In reality, the numbers of sales of these models are often so modest that the claims mean very little.

The BMW sales record battle with Mercedes is for public relations purposes more than anything else. The companies have yet to announce what their revenue and operating profits were last year. Until those figures are released, the unit sales claims mean very little. BMW may have made more per vehicle last year. Or, perhaps Mercedes did.

BMW and Mercedes each unquestionably had a good year. Each had success across the major markets of the United States, Europe and China. Certainly, all other luxury brands are behind them by miles. Does it matter which sold the most units in 2019? The answer is no.