German car maker BMW's sales declined on the year in the third quarter as the shortage in semiconductors reduced auto output, but electric vehicle sales rose.
BMW sold 593,189 units in the third quarter, down by 12.2pc from a year earlier. But year-to-date sales rose by 17.9pc on the year to 1.9mn units.
Production at BMW and other automakers has taken a hit because of the semiconductor supply crunch.
"The company expects the supply situation for semiconductor components to remain difficult. Although the BMW Group has so far been able to absorb the impact of these bottlenecks, the possibility of sales being affected in the coming months cannot be ruled out," the company said.
The European market showed the most weakness, recording a 19.9pc year-on-year drop in sales. Sales in Asia also fell, by 11.9pc on the year in the third quarter. The Americas, by contrast, reported growth, with sales rising by 6pc on year.
Electric vehicle sales rise
BMW's electric vehicle sales continued to rise last quarter, in line with its target of fully-electric vehicles to account for at least half of its global sales in 2030.
Sales of battery electric vehicles and hybrids rose by 43.1pc in the third quarter to 78,333 units, taking BMW's total electric sales to 231,576 in the year to date — a 98.9pc year-on-year increase. Of this, 59,688 vehicles were full electric, up by 121.4pc on the year.
BMW also said it was investing in US start-up Lilac Solutions "to promote environmentally friendly, resource-efficient extraction of lithium".
Lilac Solutions uses ion exchange technology to extract lithium from brine resources, with its method already tested in initial pilot fields, BMW said. It now aims to "demonstrate that it can be scaled and industrialised in the mid-term."
