BMW Group delivered 1.16 million vehicles globally in H1 2026, extending its lead over Mercedes-Benz. Here’s the full breakdown, including South Africa.
BMW Group Widens Its Global Lead Over Mercedes-Benz in the First Half of 2026
BMW Group delivered 1,156,742 vehicles worldwide in the first six months of 2026, extending its lead over Mercedes-Benz Group by more than 145,000 units despite a 4.2% year-on-year decline of its own. With H1 2026 now fully reported, the numbers confirm BMW remains the dominant force in the German premium sales race — though both brands are navigating a genuinely tough global market.
The Group-Level Numbers, Side by Side
BMW Group’s total includes 149,538 units from Mini (up 11.7% year-on-year) and 2,523 units from Rolls-Royce (down 9.8%), though this figure excludes the 102,847 motorcycles and scooters sold through BMW Motorrad. Mercedes-Benz Group, which folds in both the Mercedes-Benz brand and its Vans division, finished the same period on 1,011,500 units, down a steeper 6.0% year-on-year.
That gap widens further when you isolate each company’s core passenger car brand. BMW-branded vehicles alone reached 1,004,681 units globally (down 6.2%), while Mercedes-Benz Cars delivered 837,200 units (down 7.0%) — putting BMW roughly 167,000 units ahead at the halfway mark, a lead that held steady even as both brands felt real pressure, particularly from a challenging Chinese market.
Where the Two Brands Are Actually Winning and Losing
The picture isn’t uniformly bad for either side. BMW’s core brand saw sales climb 5.4% in Europe to 496,651 units and 3.9% in the United States to 200,661 units during H1 2026, suggesting its Western markets are holding up better than the group’s overall decline implies. Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, has leaned heavily on its “Top-End” portfolio — S-Class, Maybach, G-Class, GLS, and EQS — which totalled 119,600 units, though the brand hasn’t broken out a standalone Mercedes-AMG figure the way BMW has for its M division, which recorded 99,595 units, down 6.0% year-on-year.
Electric vehicles tell a genuinely different story. BMW Group’s EV sales fell 7.4% year-on-year to 204,295 units, while Mercedes-Benz Group’s EV sales grew a striking 30.0% to 113,300 units — a sign that Mercedes’ aggressive electrification push, including new electric variants across its CLA and GLB ranges, is starting to pay off even as its overall volumes decline. It’s a genuinely relevant shift given how quickly electrified options are also gaining ground here in South Africa’s own market.
How This Plays Out in South Africa
Local figures are harder to pin down precisely, since BMW only reports South African sales quarterly and Mercedes-Benz doesn’t submit registration data to Naamsa at all. Based on Naamsa’s monthly industry estimates, BMW Group SA (covering the BMW and Mini brands, excluding Rolls-Royce and Motorrad) sold an estimated 7,948 units locally in H1 2026, while Mercedes-Benz SA (including Vans) came in at roughly 3,103 units — a gap that broadly mirrors the global pattern, even if the exact local figures carry more uncertainty than the internationally reported totals.
What This Means If You’re Cross-Shopping These Brands
Sales volume alone won’t tell you which German premium brand suits you better, but it’s a useful signal of where each manufacturer is investing its energy right now — BMW doubling down on its combustion and hybrid range in Western markets, Mercedes betting harder on electrification. If you’re weighing up a used BMW or Mercedes-Benz locally, auto24.co.za is a solid place to compare current market pricing across both brands. And given how quickly Mercedes’ EV volumes are growing globally, EV24.africa is worth checking if an electrified premium option is on your radar. For more South African automotive industry coverage, keep checking imotonews.co.za.
