BMW brand car sales reached 2.2 million in 2021, surpassing Mercedes for the first time since 2015

BMW beat longtime rival Mercedes-Benz to take the top spot in luxury car sales for the first time since 2015. As global auto production is constrained by a shortage of semiconductors, BMW is responding more effectively. Last year, BMW brand car sales rose 9% to a record 2.2 million vehicles, surpassing Mercedes's roughly 2.1 million. Daimler's Mercedes brand production shrank 5% after the chip shortage worsened in the second half of last year.

"We want to continue to grow profitably in 2022 and we will systematically expand the range of all-electric vehicles," Pieter Nota, who is in charge of BMW sales, said in the announcement on Wednesday.

BMW's win over Mercedes may partly reflect parts shortages that have plagued auto sales around the world. Data released last week showed Toyota Motor Corp. outsold General Motors Co. in the United States last year, becoming the first manufacturer to beat the Detroit giant since 1931.

Electric vehicle deliveries were a bright spot for both BMW and Mercedes as they roll out new battery-powered models and seek to meet increasingly stringent emissions regulations.

At BMW, sales of plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles such as the iX jumped 70% to 328,316, while Mercedes saw a 69% increase. Nota said BMW more than doubled its all-electric vehicle sales last year and the goal for 2022 is to repeat that feat.

Volkswagen AG's Porsche said on Wednesday its 2021 sales rose 11% to 301,915 vehicles, thanks to high demand in the United States and its largest market, China.

Mercedes said last week that scarce parts supplies would continue to constrain the industry in the first half of the year and urged more production capacity to be added globally. BMW also said it expected to continue to face parts shortages over the next six months.