Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
2016 marks the year of the BMW Group’s centenary. A look at our
history clearly shows how our company has successfully transformed
over the years: From an aircraft-engine and motorcycle manufacturer to
a multi-brand Group. From the world’s leading producer of premium
vehicles to a leading provider of premium mobility and services. Our
task now is to prepare our company for the digital transformation
taking place in the area of individual mobility. We are turning the
BMW Group into a high-tech provider of mobility.
Our vision vehicle – the BMW VISION NEXT 100 – embodies the
innovative strength and clear future focus of our company in a very
special way. It provides a glimpse into the future of mobility, from
2030 on: sustainable, fully connected and highly automated. We are
transforming the ‘ultimate driving machine’ into ‘the ultimate
driver’. Our focus moving forward will remain on our customers and
their individual mobility needs. We want to continue to bring joy to
our customers and exceed their expectations: With our premium vehicles
and premium brands.
And – more than ever before – with our premium services for
individual mobility. This will enable us to make mobility easier, more
convenient and – above all – safer for our customers.
In two days’ time, I will present the “BMW VISION NEXT 100” on its
World Tour in Beijing. Two more vision vehicles – from MINI and
Rolls-Royce – will be unveiled in London in June. All three vehicles
will be shown in Los Angeles in October – along with our vision “on
two wheels”. So, as you can see: We are working hard on creating the future.
Our strategy realignment, NUMBER ONE NEXT, sets two clear target
dates: 2020 and 2025. More than ever, we will need to be fast,
professional and flexible to master the challenges that lie ahead –
but also in our actions and our decision-making. Over the last few
months, we have already launched the first measures and projects for
Strategy NUMBER ONE NEXT. These include the new BMW 7 Series,
with its many technical innovations, our BMW iPerformance fleet, and
the new BMW M2 Coupé.
The new BMW 7 Series has been well-received by customers. We have
already delivered 10,500 BMW 7 Series since the beginning of the year.
That’s over 20 percent more than during the same period last year. And
at the end of March, we launched the 730i, which we expect will boost
sales even further. Two additional variants of the 7 Series – the
iPerformance and M Performance versions – will even give customers
more choice. An M vehicle for the luxury class was something many of
our customers wanted. And the BMW 740e iPerformance will show how we
transfer BMW i ‘born electric’ technology into our series vehicles
within the BMW brand.
Our plug-in hybrid BMWs will be under the label of BMW iPerformance.
This summer, customers will already have five iPerformance models to
choose from.
This means we will offer a plug-in hybrid for every class, from
compact to luxury. The electrification of our vehicle fleet is a key
element of Strategy NUMBER ONE NEXT.
A greater proportion of all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles
within our fleet is essential in order to meet Europe’s ambitious CO2
emissions targets for 2020.
In the first quarter of this year, we sold over 5,000 BMW i3 cars.
I am also delighted that the German government is taking concrete
steps to support electric mobility. I am optimistic that this will
increase the demand for electric cars. In the long term – and we are
convinced of this – alternative drive trains will be an integral part
of individual mobility. And we want to be the leader in electric mobility.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Our industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Strategy
NUMBER ONE NEXT focuses on six key focus areas: Brands
design, products, technologies, customer experience services,
digitalization and profitability.
For us, consistent profitability over the longer term is a must; it
gives us the foundation we need for investing in the future. We must
also constantly evaluate our internal structures and processes. Here,
we are concentrating on speed and efficiency to prepare our company
for the digitalisation of our vehicles and our production facilities.
In the future, our attractive model range will remain fundamental to
our success.
As part of Strategy NUMBER ONE NEXT, we will expand our product
portfolio – for all of our brands and segments, with an additional
model for the luxury class, an X7 to complement our X family and
further additions to our M and M Performance ranges. I already
mentioned the BMW M2 Coupé. A new Rolls-Royce is developed under the
project name ‘Cullinan’. And there will be new additions to the i
family. In the second half of 2016, we will launch another i3 model,
with 50 percent more battery capacity. This will be followed by a BMW
i8 Roadster in 2018.
In terms of technology we are working parallel on optimising our
combustion engines with Efficient Dynamics NEXT and also on
electrification, with battery packs and fuel cells. At the beginning
of 2020, our new BMW i NEXT will unite the full range of future
features: autonomous driving, digital connectivity, intelligent
lightweight construction and next-generation electric mobility.
Our goal is set out in Strategy NUMBER ONE NEXT: We want to be
the leader in the digitalisation of individual mobility. We will focus
on three main areas: Digital customer experiences, connected and
autonomous driving and business processes.
Mobility services and digital services are already a part of our
business model today. DriveNow, ParkNow and ChargeNow are just three
examples. Especially in major cities, customers need seamless and
individual mobility solutions. For sustainable urban mobility, the USA
is our pilot market. In early April, we launched our car sharing
service, ReachNow, in Seattle. The number of people who have
registered has far exceeded our expectations. ReachNow is modelled on
DriveNow in Europe. Our partner for this service in the USA is a
technology start-up called RideCell.
Since March this year, BMW Connected Drive users in the USA can
download the BMW Connected app – a customised digital companion
available from the Apple Store. This app offers customers convenient
access to a highly personalised world of intelligent, connected
digital mobility services. It’s a cross-platform mobility concept that
is based on an Open Mobility Cloud. The Cloud gives us an even better
picture of our customers’ wishes and we can provide an even more
tailored service.
And that’s exactly what we are aiming for: The best services in our
competitive field. ReachNow and BMW Connected clearly show that we are
pushing forward with the implementation of our strategy NUMBER ONE
NEXT.
We are strengthening our core business, working intensively on
operational excellence. At the same time we are making swift progress
in further developing our service range.
We have set ourselves a number of ambitious goals for the current
business year:
- A slight increase in automotive sales – which would be another
all-time high for the BMW Group. - A slight increase in Group EBT – which would be another best
result for our company. - An EBIT margin in the Automotive Segment that remains within our
target range of 8 to 10 percent.
Our first quarter was a good start to the year. For the sixth time in
a row, we achieved a new first-quarter sales record – with more than
557,000 vehicles sold. Our BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad brands posted
their best first-quarter figures yet. Group profit before tax was more
than 2.3 billion euros – our highest first-quarter figure ever. Group
profit rose to more than 1.6 billion euros. And our EBIT margin in the
Automotive segment currently stands at 9.4 percent, which is at the
upper end of our projected target range of 8 to 10 percent.
So, after three months, we remain on track to achieve our targets for
2016. This assumes that business conditions remain stable. A number of
risks could potentially affect our business development, such as the
continuing normalisation of the Chinese market, recessive developments
in some emerging markets and political uncertainty in Europe. And not
to be forgotten: market conditions in the all-important market of the
USA. This year, they appear to be becoming more challenging. In
addition, the premium segment remains highly competitive.
On the other hand, the forecast growth in the global automobile
market is expected to provide momentum. And one of the greatest
contributors to our business development will be our attractive range
of new BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles: The new BMW 7 Series has
been available with the full range of engines since March. The new BMW
X1 is proving extremely popular, with strong sales growth. The X1 long
version is due for market launch in China in May. It will be
manufactured at our plant in Tiexi. The new MINI Convertible has been
on the market since March. And at Rolls-Royce, a new convertible,
Dawn, will add further impetus to sales.
Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see: We are shaping the
transformation of individual mobility. We are working from a position
of strength, with a solid financial foundation. I remain confident
that the BMW Group is on track for continued success – in its
centenary year 2016 and beyond.
Thank you very much.