The model is one of the electric beacons of hope for the group.
(Photo: dpa)
Munich The BMW Group is on track to achieve its revised annual targets. In the third quarter, the carmaker sold almost 590,000 cars and was thus almost at the same level as the previous year, as the company announced on Thursday. Since the Munich-based company expects sales to increase by the end of the year, the group expects annual sales to be just below the previous year.
BMW had to drastically reduce production in the first half of the year due to the Ukraine war in Europe and the lockdowns in China – and lost its outlook at the end of June.
Despite weaker sales in the current year, the carmaker is heading for record results. The reason lies in the majority takeover of the Chinese production joint venture with Brilliance, which BMW has controlled 75 percent since February.
From the revaluation of the shares already held alone, the Munich-based company posted 7.7 billion euros in the financial result in the second quarter. With a consolidated profit of EUR 16 billion, the group is already six billion up on the previous year.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
At 8.9 percent, the operating margin in the auto business remained within the corridor of seven to nine percent targeted for the year as a whole. “Especially under volatile conditions, our globally balanced positioning and our technology-neutral approach are proving to be a key success factor,” said BMW CEO Oliver Zipse in Munich. BMW is one of the few automakers that hasn’t set a definitive date for the end of the internal combustion engine.
For BMW, the days of high prices are over
Nevertheless, Zipse points to the increased proportion of electric cars. Since the beginning of the year, the group has sold 128,000 purely battery-powered vehicles. After discontinuing the i3 this summer, BMW is now primarily focusing on the i4 electric sedan and the iX electric SUV.
By 2025, a quarter of the cars sold in Europe will be powered by electricity. After that, with the “New Class”, the group is focusing on a technical orientation that is designed exclusively for electric drives. The electricity offensive is to be financed primarily with the sale of luxury cars. In recent years, BMW had almost doubled sales in the segment.
>> Read about this: Investment in billions in Spartanburg – BMW is converting the US plant electrically
The driving force is the X7, an SUV weighing more than two tons, which yields particularly high profits. However, the time of high prices seems to be over for the time being. “High rates of inflation and rising interest rates are worsening the environment for consumers and will impact consumer behavior in the coming months,” the company said. “Furthermore, a normalization of the above-average high order backlog is expected – especially in Europe.”
Despite rising energy and material costs, BMW generated sales of 37.2 billion euros in the summer quarter, a good third more than a year ago. The pre-tax profit improved by a fifth to 4.1 billion euros. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had predicted lower sales and profits.
Well-being depends more than ever on China
In China, BMW continues to increase production and wants to build around 830,000 cars in the Middle Kingdom in the medium term. Among other things, part of the production of the X5 off-road vehicle will be withdrawn from the US plant in South Carolina and relocated to Shenyang. In addition, the small car subsidiary Mini is planning a joint venture with Great Wall, which will also export the electric version of the Mini to the USA.
Good relations with China are important for the group: CEO Oliver Zipse is expected to accompany Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on his trip to China.
More: Why so few German company cars are electrically powered