AUTONEWS

BMW challenges crisis and bets on another record year's sales 

To BMW says that reached record sales last year and that 2020 can be even better, ignoring a European market that is unheated and the fall in demand in China.
The company based in Munich sold 2.52 million cars in 2019, said Pieter Nota, BMW's sales director. The volume represents an increase of 1.2% over 2018, when the manufacturer sold 2.49 million BMWs, Mini and Rolls-Royce.
“We look at the year that begins with confidence and intend to increase sales again in 2020, " the executive said in a statement.
The optimistic tone of note I saw in the opposite of the sector. China must have closed 2019 with another annual drop in car sales, and industry figures in Europe coming out next week can also show the same trajectory.
So far, BMW's Lifeline has been high-level SUVs, such as the X7 flagship and a new version of the M8 coupon focusing on M8 performance. The company wants more than double sales of these vehicles by 2020 compared to 2018.
Like rivals, BMW needs to balance the dependence on traditional models with the transition to electric cars if it wants to avoid high EU fines for emissions that came into force in 2020. The rules will be even stricter in 2021, which may represent billions in fines for the block automakers if their fleets do not reach the average emission targets.