JATO Blog
October 25, 2016 by Felipe Munoz

New BMW 7-Series shakes Luxury Sedan registrations in September

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The luxury sedans registrations in Europe had a good month in September. Total volume was up by 17.7% to 3,950 units, counting for 0.26% of the whole car market. It was the third best positive change after the SUVs (+23.6%) and Vans (+32.3%) and allowed to improve the YTD results taking the cumulated growth to +8.0% and total registrations to 31,783 units. However, this was an artificial growth, as most of the increase came from a single model, the BMW 7-Series.

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In fact last month, the flagship from the German brand recorded a 354% increase over September 2015 volume, with its registrations soaring from 298 units a year ago to 1,352 in September 2016. The latest generation of the 7-Series has been particularly popular in Poland, Austria, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland, and in the UK and Germany its registrations grew by 165% and 116% respectively. While the gasoline versions posted an increase of 60%, the real growth drivers were the electric/hybrid and diesel engine versions. In September BMW sold more electric/hybrid 7-Series than gasoline ones, at 222 units for the first one against 162 units for the latter. The diesel 7-Series demand soared by 400% from 184 units in September 2015 to 920 units a year later.

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The other big players of the segment posted negative changes. Mercedes S-Class continues to feel the impact of the increasing demand of the 7-Series with its volume down by 5.6%, but still topping the list with 1,487 units. It is also the best-selling luxury sedan through September with 12,039 units or 38% segment share. But the big BMW’s increase had a wider effect on the sales performance of the Audi A8/S8, down by 14% at 539 units, and its cousin the Porsche Panamera, down by 47% at 175 units. The Porsche’s fall can also be attributed to the imminent change of generation after it was revealed in Paris motor show last month.

 

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