Article Summary
- BMW sold 1,004,669 vehicles worldwide in the first six months of the year, down 6.2%.
- The X1/X2 was BMW’s best-selling model series, followed closely by the 3 Series/4 Series.
- The Z4 gained momentum in its final months on the market, outselling the dead-last XM by a 2-to-1 margin.
BMW rose in Europe and the United States in the first half of 2026, but it wasn’t enough to offset its continued downfall in China. With 1,004,669 cars sold worldwide, demand fell by 6.2% compared to the January-June 2025 period. The half-year report released today shows what worked and what didn’t through June, and there are a couple of surprises.
For starters, the X5 and X6 pair grew by 1.9% to 123,660 units. The new G65 launches soon, but the growth shows many decided not to wait and went for the G05 instead. The previous-generation X5 must have done most of the heavy lifting. After all, it has historically outsold the X6 by a wide margin. The SUV beaten with the coupe stick won’t switch from the current G06 to the G66 until 2028.
Another surprise comes from the entry-level crossovers, as the X1/X2 outsold the 3 Series/4 Series. A little over 1,000 vehicles separate the two groups, although the situation could be reversed by the end of the year. BMW will kick off i3 deliveries this fall, and early signs point to the electric sedan being a commercial success. The company opened the order books earlier than planned by launching the First Edition before the regular i3 goes on sale at the end of September.
The X3/iX3 Are BMW’s Stars So Far This Year
As you can tell, BMW still doesn’t provide a proper breakdown for each model series when it posts global sales results, choosing instead to bundle two related lineups together. Unsurprisingly, the X3/X4 saw the biggest jump, rising by 16.4% to 169,563 units. Nearly all of them were combustion-engine X3s and electric iX3s, since the X4 went out of production last year. The Debrecen plant has already built 50,000 units in the nine months since production started there, with demand approaching 100,000 orders in Europe alone.
It’s bittersweet to see the Z4 rising 2.8% to 5,706 units, knowing that the roadster has gone out of production. While a direct successor isn’t planned, much like a new 8 Series Convertible isn’t happening, BMW isn’t abandoning this niche. Recent spy shots have revealed that a fully electric i4 Convertible is undergoing testing ahead of a possible launch in 2028. It’ll join the ICE-powered 4 Series Convertible, which should remain in production until mid-2029.
iX And XM Fell The Hardest
The X3/X4, X5/X6, and the Z4 were the only models to post positive results in the first half of 2026. Everything else was in the red, with the iX and XM falling the hardest by 22.8% and 22.4%, respectively. The latter was once again dead last in the sales charts, though few will be surprised. Both large SUVs are unlikely to get a second generation when their life cycles come to an end in the coming years.
The 7 Series/8 Series also suffered a big drop of 20.6%, but that’s understandable. The 8er is no more, while the 7er just switched to the facelifted model. The numbers should improve in the second half of the year as production of the updated flagship ramps up in Dingolfing. We won’t know until 2027 or even 2028 whether ALPINA’s sales will be bundled with those of the BMW-badged 7 Series.
Looking ahead, BMW still has at least two major debuts lined up for 2026. The iX4 and 3 Series Sedan with combustion engines should be revealed in the coming months. Neither will have an impact on this year’s sales charts, since deliveries are unlikely to start until early 2027.
