The BMW XM isn't selling. The plug-in-hybrid SUV was down 30.7% in the third quarter of this year. The XM is selling worse than the BMW Z4 convertible.
The BMW XM has had a troubled life since production started in December of 2022. Sales of the performance SUV have been slow, and that trend continued in quarter three of this year. In those three months, the automaker sold just 307 XM SUVs, a decrease of 30.7% compared to the same quarter last year when it sold 443 examples.
This is especially noteworthy in the context of other slow-selling BMWs. For reference, the Bavarian automaker sold 543 Z4s this quarter. That makes the XM less popular than a two-seat roadster, a notoriously low-volume segment. Sure, Z4 sales are up nearly 64%, but that's only an increase of 212 units.
The XM news isn't so noteworthy in the broader context of BMW sales, though, which are down across its brands. Passenger cars are down 5%, SUVs dipped 8.5%, and the Mini brand has dropped a truly shocking 33% versus the same quarter last year. The automaker's iconic 3 Series is down 13.7% despite receiving a recent refresh. Not good news.
The year-to-date figures are less jarring. Overall, the company is down just 2.1% compared to last year, which is a difference of only 5,740 cars.
A few cars, like the Z4, have seen big gains percentage-wise. The 5 Series is up 44.7%, the 2 Series is up 25.6%, and the X4 has gained 41.8% compared to Q3 last year. Mostly, though, things are down. Every single Mini model saw a sales decline. The Countryman, its sales leader, is down 16.4%. The brand's biggest winner is the Cooper S hardtop, only down 3.3%.
So let's hope lots of people decide to get each other BMWs with those giant bows on them for the holidays. The brand has a lot of work to do if it hopes to end 2024 on an upward trajectory.
