Summer Series – How’s it going…BMW?
You are probably aware. At BMW we rely on electricity. Like other builders you would say. Yes, but with a very specific goal. To challenge Tesla’s supremacy even in the American market.
Like all giants of the sector, the European sales of the Munich brand recorded a serious drop of 13.6% in the first half of 2022 (253,475 units sold compared to 293,451 in 2021). Whatever the race for volume has never been a corporate desire, much less in this time of semiconductor supply constraints and in a difficult international context. Since it’s impossible to sustain production rates, we might as well encourage the most profitable sales. The Bavarian manufacturer (1,016,541 units sold or -13.7%) remains the global reference in the premium universe for the first six months of the year. And above all the profitability champion.
In the first three months of 2022, BMW recorded a 16.3% increase in sales (31.142 billion euros compared to 26.778 billion euros in the first quarter of 2021). Better increased its pre-tax profit (EBT) by … 256% from €12.227 billion compared to €3.757 billion last year.
The EBT margin increased to 39.3% in the first quarter of 2022, compared to 14.0% a year earlier at the same time. Over the entire first quarter of 2022, the automaker generated a net profit of 10.185 billion euros, compared to 2.833 billion euros in the first quarter of 2021. The operating margin of the auto business even reached 13.2%. Almost on par with the champion of all categories in this area…Tesla. Driven by luxury cars, the electric BMW also shows good prospects.
The 3 and 4 series are the brand’s best-selling models, ahead of the X3 and X4 SUVs and the 5 and 6 series. But growth has not slowed down, especially in the electric sector. With declining sales volume, the proportion of electrified models at the German manufacturer has increased by more than 110%.
The BMW i40 illustrates this trend with more than 34,000 orders already registered in Europe. The start of the electric offensive.
By the end of the year, the manufacturer will be launching the i7 and, above all, the SUV iX. The new shop window for electrical engineering from BMW. The brand’s new flagship, available in three versions (iX xDrive40, iX xDrive50 and the sporty iX M60), aims to compete with the Tesla Model X. And even surpass it in terms of autonomy. BMW is currently testing a new battery for its iX that can travel 1,000 km on a single charge.
The prototype provided by the American start-up Our Next Energy (ONE) should be ready by the end of the year.
BMW has everything it takes to become the new reference brand for premium electric vehicles.
