(Reuters) -BMW remains on track for slightly higher sales this year despite a dip in demand in the first quarter, including in the Chinese market, the German carmaker said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BMW said it delivered 588,138 vehicles in the first quarter, down 1.5% on the previous year, while electric vehicle (EV) sales rose 83.2% year on year to 64,647 vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By region, BMW only saw sales growth in the United States, with an 11.4% increase to 89,750 car sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sales in China fell 6.6%, but the company said the Chinese economy was expected to stabilise over the course of this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 1.9% fall in European sales was attributed largely to an export and production ban in the Russian market, where Chinese marques are benefiting from the exit by Western automakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p) also saw its group deliveries fall between January and February, but recorded growth in China as well as in North America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BMW remained confident about its 2023 guidance despite a “challenging business environment”, the company said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The BMW Group is on track for slight sales growth in the full year 2023,” said Pieter Nota, management board member responsible for customer, brands and sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The main growth drivers in 2023 will be fully-electric vehicles and models from the high-end premium segment,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BMW and its competitors are pushing to switch towards electric models to remain competitive and meet climate targets ahead of the 2035 phase-out of CO2-emitting cars in the European Union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Electric vehicle sales in BMW’s core brand more than doubled in Q1 year on year to 55,979 units.<\/p>\n