Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen!
I’d like to begin by saying a few words about yesterday’s forum in
Berlin between Federal and State Government officials and the
automobile industry.
The meeting was an important step. We support the initiative and are
investing in the Sustainable Urban Mobility fund.
State-of-the art diesels will definitely play an important role in
future mobility, as well. Yesterday, this was clearly acknowledged.
Modern efficient diesel engines ensure lower CO2 emissions. On
average, BMW Group diesel vehicles emit 40% less NOX than the German
average, as reported by the Germany Federal Environment agency in
April 2017. This is also true for both our Euro 5 and Euro 6 vehicles.
We are driving the transition to sustainable mobility as hard and
fast as possible. That’s why we will grant vehicle owners across the
EU an environmental bonus of up to 2,000 euros, depending on the model.
This applies to owners of diesel vehicles that meet Euro 4 standards
or less, when they trade in their vehicle and purchase a new BMW or
MINI. The replacement must be either a BMW i3, a plug-in hybrid or a
Euro 6-standard vehicle with CO2 emissions of up to 130 grams per
kilometer (in the NEDC).
In addition, we are offering an optimisation of the exhaust-treatment
system for 225,000 of the Euro 5 models currently on the road in
Germany, at no extra cost to the customer, of course.
As I emphasized again yesterday:
BMW Group vehicles are not rigged for testing purposes. This has been
confirmed by the results of relevant official investigations at the
national and international level. And our customers can continue to
rely on this.
The BMW Group initiated the change to sustainable mobility at an
early stage.
Currently we have more than 150,000 electrified vehicles on the road.
But it’s also clear that sustainable mobility requires cooperation –
within our industry and with partners from other areas. The automotive
industry will continue to play a key role for growth, innovation and
jobs in our country. And I can assure you – the BMW Group will also
continue to drive innovation in sustainable mobility.
And now, I would like to move on to our daily business – and the
strategic challenges and opportunities that remain the focus of our
efforts and innovations, regardless of current developments.
There are two topics I would like to address in more detail:
What did we achieve in the first half of 2017?
- Which steps have we already taken under Strategy NUMBER ONE NEXT?
- In the first six months, we continued the successful business
development of recent years.
Our sales figures and Group earnings once again reached new all-time highs:
We delivered more vehicles than ever before in a six-month period.
Total deliveries of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles exceeded 1.2 million.
This underlines the strong appeal of our brands and our models. The
BMW brand alone delivered more than one million vehicles. The main
growth drivers were the BMW 7 Series and the BMW X models. We expect
the new BMW 5 Series, including the Touring and plug-in hybrid
variants, as well as the long wheelbase version in China, to provide
further momentum. In autumn, these will be followed by the third
generation of the very popular BMW X3 – which will also be available
for the first time as an M Performance model.
MINI sales also reached a new half-year high. The new Countryman has
been well received by the markets.
Rolls-Royce sales were lower than last year. In the ultra-luxury
segment, political and economic uncertainties in a number of regions
have dampened consumer spending. We presented the new Phantom, “the
Pinnacle of Luxury” to the world just a few days ago in London.
Reactions have been very positive.
BMW Motorrad remains on track for growth, with record deliveries. As
previously announced, BMW Motorrad aims to deliver more than 200,000
BMW motorcycles and scooters by 2020. This year alone, BMW Motorrad
fans will be able to choose between 14 new and revised models –
including the new R NineT Pure and Racer models.
Group pre-tax earnings climbed to a new all-time high of more than 6
billion euros – due to positive business development as well as
valuation effects from the first quarter.
For the 29th consecutive quarter, our EBIT margin in the Automotive
Segment remains within our target range of 8 to 10 per cent.
The global automotive market reported only slight growth in the first
half of the year. Individual markets are developing unevenly. In this
case, we benefit from our balanced distribution of sales across
Europe, Asia and the Americas.
We have established a strong sales network and production base in all
these regions. We are a reliable local partner and understand our
customers’ needs.
Our sales figures for the first half-year produced the following
picture: In Europe, sales were slightly higher. China posted
double-digit growth. In the US, our sales decreased slightly in a
declining overall market.
As a global company, the BMW Group is confronted with many risks on
the international auto markets. Examples include the impact of Brexit
and the political situation in the Middle East.
Nevertheless, we have set ourselves ambitious goals for the financial
year 2017: We are targeting a slight increase in deliveries and Group
earnings before tax, both of which should reach new all-time highs. At
the end of the first six months, we are well on our way to achieving
our goals for the year. The BMW Group intends to remain the leader in
the premium segment and grow profitably. For us, however, it is more
important to be in our target corridor than to grow strongly in
volume. We are making further strategic decisions to strengthen our
innovative capabilities and our core business.
That brings me to the second topic: Which steps have we taken under
Strategy NUMBER ONE NEXT?
I have always emphasised that electro-mobility is currently our clear
priority. The mood is becoming increasingly positive.
In the first half of the year, we sold more than 42,500 electrified
cars. That is around 80 per cent more than in the same period last
year. This includes models from our BMW i family, our BMW iPerformance
vehicles and the new MINI Countryman Plug-In Hybrid, available since June.
We are the market leader in plug-in hybrids in the premium segment.
The sales curve for the pure electric BMW i3 shows a clear upward
trend. Sales increased by more than 50 per cent year-on-year. There
are plenty of announcements being made in our industry at the moment.
We are creating facts. We have more electrified vehicles on the roads
than any of our established competitors. Our customers can currently
choose from nine electrified models. Thanks to the growing
desirability and our broad range of electrified drive trains, I am
very confident that: We will deliver 100,000 electrified vehicles this
year. We are expanding our offering to all brands and segments. In
this way, we are already embarking on the second wave of
electrification. Many customers have already reserved the BMW i8
Roadster, which launches next year. I am sure the all-electric BMW X3
will also be a hit with many customers from 2020.
Production of the first fully-electric MINI will get underway in 2019
at our British plant in Oxford, where most of our MINI 3-Door cars are
built. MINI customers will then be able to choose between three drive
train variants: combustion engine, plug-in hybrid in the Countryman
and electric drive train in the MINI Hatch.
In Germany, Lower Bavaria is home to our Dingolfing and Landshut
plants – it is our centre of competence for electro-mobility.
Dingolfing will also build our new technology flagship, the BMW iNEXT.
At the IAA in Frankfurt, we will present a very exciting surprise.
We are strengthening Germany’s status as a manufacturing location for
e-mobility. We aim to provide our customers worldwide with emotional
and comprehensive sustainable mobility solutions – and we are enabling
our locations to achieve this: We currently produce electrified models
at ten international locations. Going forward, nearly all of our
plants will be able to build vehicles with combustion engines, plug-in
hybrids and all-electric models on a single production line. This
makes us extremely flexible in how we respond to demand.
Autonomous driving is our second major area of activity – and we are
making rapid progress in this area, as well. We have been working with
Intel and Mobileye for the past year. We have also been able to
recruit new and renowned partners for our platform, like Delphi and
Continental. This year, the first engineers from the BMW Group, Intel
and Mobileye will move into our development campus outside of Munich.
We want to offer all our customers the right options for their own
individual mobility needs. This year and next, we will launch around
40 new and revised models. This will be the biggest model offensive in
our history. The BMW 8 Series Concept Vehicle provides a glimpse of
the near future. This highly emotional vehicle underlines our claim to
leadership in the luxury segment.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
modern societies need mobility. The car is, for many people, an
essential element of their everyday lives. It makes our lives easier
and more flexible. Digitalisation opens up new possibilities to take
individual mobility to a new dimension: electric, connected and
autonomous. We are pushing ahead with all of these topics as part of
Strategy NUMBER ONE NEXT. We are combining operational excellence
in our core business with profitability and fresh thinking. This is
our roadmap for our future success. Thank you!