BMW Motorrad sets another sales record

BMW Motorrad continues to conquer sales charts around the world, with news of yet another record-setting first half.

BMW saw its motorcycle deliveries rise 9.5 per cent in the first half of 2017 when compared to the same period of 2016. That amounts to 88,389 motorcycles, up from 80,754 units the previous year.

According to the BMW press release, the strongest growth came in developed markets, particularly Europe, although the Americas also saw gains (South America up 16.3 per cent, US up 3.8 per cent) as well as China.

Interestingly, the gains seem to come without significant help from the new made-in-India G310 series—at least, the press release doesn’t mention them. While the low-priced beginner bikes are pegged by some observers to be the company’s key to future growth, BMW seems to be motoring along quite nicely without them at the moment, as it credits its growth to the bigger bikes.

In particular, BMW singled out the R1200 GS and R1200 GS Adventure as key to the improvement in sales; the R1200 GS saw a 17.3 jump in sales, with 17,159 units sold in the first six months of 2017. Whether the company’s latest recall will drastically affect those numbers in the second half remains to be seen, but BMW is addressing the issue with the 1200’s forks, and there’s plenty of time left to make up a temporary lag in sales.

The next few months should be good for BMW, as the G310 GS model will theoretically hit bike-hungry markets in developing countries and other models like the K1600 B bagger will also arrive. In the long-term, the updated parallel twin (tentatively dubbed the F900) will most likely be available next year, which might put a cramp on F800 sales this year, as buyers may want to hold out for the new bike. However, that machine will probably not be unveiled until this fall’s show circuit begins, which gives BMW plenty of opportunity to sell its existing vertical twins.