since 1976
since 1976
BMW Group Malaysia has taken the leading position in the Premium Segment in Malaysia once again, having successfully delivered over 10,500 units of BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad vehicles in 2021 – of which over 16% were electrified, bringing the total number of electrified BMW and MINI vehicles on Malaysian roads today to just over 21,600 units.
In the details, the BMW brand delivered over 8,400 vehicles to capture 47% market share of the segment while MINI delivered over 940 vehicles to solidify its place as the number three brand in the Malaysian premium segment. BMW Motorrad Malaysia, meanwhile, also ranked first place in the Malaysian market for high-powered motorcycles above 500cc in 2021 with over 1100 deliveries, a first-time achievement in the segment, recording a 20% market share with the highest amount of vehicle registrations within the segment last year.
Hans de Visser, Managing Director of BMW Group Malaysia said, “Our achievements in 2021 are strongly attributed to the unwavering support of our loyal customers in Malaysia, our dedicated network of dealers as well as our employees who produced nothing short of exceptional work and achievement, despite the economic and social challenges posed to many industries especially our due to the pandemic last year. I would like to take a moment to say Thank You and Congratulations for this Amazing Achievement!”
He added, “Leveraging on the lessons learned as an organisation from the first pandemic year, we navigated the second year with strategies in place to tackle economic slowdowns in the industry, and we successfully introduced 37 model variants across the BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad portfolio despite repeated lockdowns. 2021 was also the year of our electrification-offensive, for us as well as the BMW Group worldwide, and with the amazing response we have received in Malaysia for the all-new BMW i models, we are confident that the Electric Future we envision for Malaysia will soon become reality. We are ready for it and so is Malaysia as we now steer and drive into 2022 fully electrified.”
Globally, the BMW Group recorded a solid 8.4% growth last year, with a total of 2,521,525 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles delivered to customers worldwide. BMW deliveries reached a new all-time high of 2,213,795 units (+9.1%) last year, with the brand leading the global premium segment. The BMW Group also more than doubled deliveries of fully-electric vehicles in 2021 to 103,855 units, up 133.2% - which heralds a new era of mobility that is electrifying almost every segment of the automotive industry worldwide.
Number One in the Malaysian Premium Segment.
In Malaysia, the BMW 3 Series remains the top-performing portfolio for the Sheer Driving Pleasure BMW brand, contributing to 28% of total BMW deliveries with over 2,400 units in 2021 and led by the BMW 320i Sport. The BMW 2 Series, meanwhile, overtook the long-time favoured BMW 5 Series for the very first time, recording over 1,270 deliveries – of which 99% was contributed by the BMW 218i Gran Coupe introduced in October 2020. The BMW 5 Series followed closely behind with 1,150 units, with the BMW 530i M Sport in the lead. The three top-performing models in Malaysia from the BMW 2 Series, BMW 3 Series and BMW 5 Series are also proudly locally-assembled.
Throughout 2021, the BMW X family of Sports Activity Vehicles (SAVs) maintains their strong momentum from the previous year – achieving over 3,200 deliveries to match the performance charted in 2020. The BMW X1 remains the top-selling model for the BMW X range with over 960 deliveries. This is closely followed by the electrified BMW X5 with over 850 units delivered, a 22% increase from the previous year – a promising outlook for electrification in the country, as versatile BMW SAVs remain a popular choice in the local market.
With Big Love, the performance of MINI in 2021 saw a 5.6% growth compared to the previous year, led once again by the best-selling MINI Countryman models, accounting for over 68% in deliveries for the MINI portfolio. The uptake of electrified mobility is seen with the MINI brand as well – for 2021, over 16% of all MINI vehicles delivered were electrified, compared to 2020, where the figure stood at just over 7%.
Success was also celebrated at BMW Motorrad in Making Life a Ride in Malaysia. In addition to ranking first in the over-500cc segment, BMW Motorrad Malaysia also recorded a 5% growth in 2021 – despite the challenges of the second pandemic year. The Adventure segment significantly led deliveries with 657 deliveries, largely contributed by the all-time biking world leader, the BMW R 1250 GS Adventure in the 40th Year Anniversary of the GS. This was followed by the touring segment with 159 deliveries, of which over 65% were represented by the BMW R 1250 RT.
BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia successfully financed over 5,500 vehicles across the BMW Group portfolio in 2021, accounting for over 50% of all BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad vehicles delivered last year. The digitalisation of the customer journey also continued with the expansion of the BMW Engage online financing application to include the BMW Premium Selection brand. Eight out of ten contracts last year were funded digitally, equating to over 4,400 contracts funded via BMW Engage. In the year ahead, BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia will work towards making the application available for BMW Motorrad owners as well.
Malaysia as an Electric Hub for the BMW Group.
This year, BMW Group Malaysia is looking forward to setting a new milestone at its assembly plant in Kulim, with the assembly of its 100,000th vehicle for the Malaysian market. This is a significant proof point for local assembly and technological capabilities in delivering some of the most innovative premium vehicles on the road. This eventual milestone also affirms the premium automaker’s confidence in its continued investments towards building and sustaining Malaysia as a regional automotive hub; providing greater upskilling opportunities for local automotive talents through transfer of technological know-how from across the BMW Group.
With growing interest for electrification in Malaysia, the premium automaker also demonstrated continued investments in the local automotive industry by introducing more powertrain options for its line-up of locally-assembled BMW X3 variants, which were introduced alongside the New BMW X4. This includes the electrification of the BMW X3 with the New BMW X3 xDrive30e M Sport, a first for BMW Group Malaysia’s portfolio of locally-assembled vehicles.
The premium automaker’s momentum in driving electrification mirrors a turning point in the market’s reception of electrified vehicles – a shift that is exemplified not just by promising past performance figures, but is also exemplified by the overwhelming positive response for the pre-booking of the new BMW i vehicles introduced at NEXTGen Malaysia early this year. With range anxiety and infrastructure being the most pressing issues for customers and automakers alike in advancing electromobility in the country, BMW Group Malaysia will continue to accelerate the roll-out of its public charging network nationwide.
As of January 2022, there are 77 BMW i Charging facilities across the country, with 25 facilities powered by partnerships with local dealers and industry players. This network is complemented with 16 charging points with Shell Recharge & Park Easy as well as 319 charging facilities with GreenTech Malaysia and its ChargEV platform.
With the aim to provide EV owners greater access to these infrastructures, the charging facilities are not only concentrated in the Greater Klang Valley where EV ownership is highest, but spread across cities in the Northern and Southern regions as well. This expansion will carry on in the year ahead, and with the support of local dealers, the goal is to equip more locations with DC Fast Chargers as well.
On an organisational level, BMW Group Malaysia have also been pivoting their traditional business models to one that is centred on Sustainability of the Environment, Community and Governance. In the last year alone, three key initiatives were established under the RE:GENERATE programme by BMW Group Malaysia to repurpose waste and by-products from its business processes. This was carried out with strategic partnerships and initiatives with local innovators and industry players such as Precious Plastic Malaysia, EV Connection, and Pentas Flora to develop innovative solutions to address and repurpose plastic, EV batteries as well as automotive lubricant and solvent waste from its business process value chain.
With the loyal support of BMW Group Malaysia’s dedicated network of dealers and a loyal customer base, the premium automaker also achieved net promoter scores of 93 and 94 for the BMW and MINI brands respectively for Malaysia, the second highest rankings in the world in terms of customer satisfaction for the BMW Group.
“We are going beyond delivering premium vehicles that are the Ultimate Driving Machines, but vehicles that are ultimately responsible for the planet and our future generations. We recognise that the time has come for a shared vision for electrified mobility with a shared responsibility by all stakeholders to act and transform our industries into a responsible ecosystem that is built for the future. For us at BMW Group Malaysia, this is an ecosystem where Future Mobility can truly thrive in. This is the future we envision and with the support of our customers, dealers, associates and the Malaysian government here – we are more than optimistic that this Electric Future will be a successful one,” de Visser said.
