BMW sold around 3,200 vehicles in South Africa in the first quarter of 2025, cementing its position as the leader in the premium segment over rivals Audi and Mercedes-Benz.
According to Naamsa The Automotive Business Council, the number saw BMW secure a 40.6% slice of the overall premium segment in Q1.
This success is amplified by sub-brand Mini achieving a 6.2% market share, and its Motorrad motorcycle division attaining a 43.9% overall market share.
“BMW Group South Africa significantly outperformed its key premium competitors in passenger vehicle sales during the quarter,” said Peter van Binsbergen, CEO of BMW Group South Africa.
“This collective performance highlights the strength and breadth of BMW Group South Africa’s portfolio, exceeding internal targets across BMW, Mini, BMW Motorrad, and Customer Support.”
The key ingredient to BMW’s success in the first three months of the year was none other than the locally built X3 SUV.
Even before its market introduction in February, order books for the X3 were already filled to the brim.
This required BMW’s South African factory to operate at full tilt from the get-go, producing roughly 330 units of the SUV a day across three shifts.
The substantial production volumes were enabled by a R4.2-billion investment that turned the Rosslyn, Gauteng production plant into a world-class facility.
The massive cash injection was not only necessary to upgrade tooling and equipment for the new X3, but also to equip the factory with the necessary machinery to produce plug-in hybrid variants of the SUV.
As a result, the local plant is now the only one in BMW’s global production network that has the capacity to produce the popular plug-in hybrid X3 30e xDrive.
This makes it an incredibly valuable asset for the BMW Group as well as for South Africa as a whole.
A cheaper BMW is on the way
With the premium vehicle segment in South Africa nowadays being a shadow of its former self, BMW is working on finding a more wallet-friendly solution for the country.
“We understand that customers continue to face affordability challenges and we are developing more accessible offerings, especially in the SUV segment, which will shortly be introduced,” a brand representative revealed to TopAuto.
The spokesperson was careful not to let any other details slip, leaving us to speculate on what these new products might be.
There have been no rumours or sightings of a brand-new affordable BMW in development, which is something that’s usually quite difficult to keep under wraps.
Since the vehicle is being introduced “shortly”, we suspect it should be a lower-priced option of one of the manufacturer’s existing cars, perhaps the X3.
This is a relatively new trend that is becoming increasingly popular in the current market landscape, with automakers such as Chery, Hyundai, GAC Motors, GWM, Ineos, and even Range Rover recently slashing the window stickers of their vehicles in one way or another in an attempt to remain competitive.
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