ROME – There couldn’t have been a better way to celebrate the epilogue of the fiftieth anniversary of the M factory for the BMW group. In fact, despite the well-known difficulties of the automotive market, the BMW M high performance division has once again achieved record results which in the financial year 2022 recorded 177,257 units sold, with a growth of 8.4% compared to the same period of 2021.
The market with the best results obtained was again the United States, followed by the German home market and the United Kingdom in third position. But 2022 was also the year of BMW M’s entry into the era of electric mobility: “The best-selling BMW M car in 2022 is the all-electric i4 M50 – emphasized Timo Resch, Head of Customers, Brands and Sales by BMW M – For us, this is a clear sign that the unique M feeling has arrived in the world of electrified vehicles”. The i4 M50 is powered by electric motors on both the front and rear axles, which together generate a maximum output of 400 kW/544 hp, and the iX M60, the brand’s second all-electric high performance car, has also successfully debuted.
During 2023, BMW M will continue its product offensive by launching the XM, and the i7 M70, derived from the 100% electric BMW i7. The purely electric high-performance car range will be enriched by versions equipped with an integrated driving dynamics control system and an M xDrive electric all-wheel drive system with four electric motors.
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Sales growth was then supported by classic models such as the M2 (with the debut of the M240i xDrive Coupé), M3 (also Touring), and M4, as well as the 5X M and 6X M SUVs that will be updated next spring. Lastly, in the racing sector, the world debut at the end of the month of the BMW M3 CS in the context of the 24 Hours of Daytona, together with the first race for the BMW M Hybrid V8, should be noted.
“The enthusiasm of the M community for exciting and powerful performance on the road and on the track has accompanied us throughout the anniversary year – said Franciscus van Meel, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW M – All this also translates into in a new sales record for BMW M automobiles, which gives us a positive outlook for 2023”. (Maurilio Rigo)