BMW Group upgrades "China first" electric strategy and implements "digitalization" and "carbon neutrality" with multiple initiatives

Reporter Gong Mengze

On December 16, 2021, BMW held the 2022 "New Year Online Annual Meeting", which described the company's Strategic Upgrade in China with the emotional theme of "Home in China": maintaining synergy between the corporate strategy and China's development goals, adhering to the "China First" principle, giving priority to the needs of the Chinese market in new product development, and continuously strengthening the co-creation and win-win situation with Chinese partners.

At the press conference, Gao Le, President and CEO of BMW Group Greater China, once again emphasized the importance of the Chinese market to the BMW Group, and said that BMW has made a planning layout including digitalization and carbon neutrality for the future development of the Chinese market.

At the same time, Dr. Peter, Global Finance Director of BMW Group, announced: "In 2022, BMW Group will welcome the opening of three new or upgraded plants in Shenyang and Zhangjiagang, and put into production the second BMW pure electric vehicle in Shenyang, pure electric 3 series, further enhancing China's status as one of the three major new energy vehicle production bases of the BMW Group in the world." ”

Implement the "China First" strategy

Accelerate the process of electrification in the domestic market

As the world's largest automotive market, China is also the largest market for the BMW Group. According to Dr. Peter, the BMW Group already serves more than 6 million car owners in China, employs more than 25,000 people and operates a large dealer network with around 600 stores.

According to the data, since 2010, BMW's total investment in the Shenyang production base has exceeded 73 billion yuan, which is the largest production base of the BMW Group. At the same time, BMW has set up innovative R&D bases in four cities in China, forming the largest R&D network outside Germany.

In terms of sales performance, as of the third quarter of 2021, one for every three cars of the BMW Group has been delivered to customers in China. Specifically, from January to November this year, BMW Group delivered a total of 42,000 new energy vehicles in China, an increase of 65.8% year-on-year, and has so far delivered more than 130,000 new energy vehicles in China, significantly ahead of Mercedes-Benz and Audi. These sales figures further highlight the importance of Sino-German trade.

In order to better respond to the Chinese market, the BMW Group has comprehensively upgraded the "2025 China Strategy". Implement the "China First" strategy, fully considering the expectations and needs of Chinese customers. While maintaining strategic synergy with the world, it has sufficient independence to respond quickly to changes in the Chinese market.

It is worth mentioning that with the advancement of China's "double carbon" strategic goal, BMW will also align its corporate strategy with China's "double carbon" goal. In this regard, in 2022, BMW will complete three new or upgraded plants in Shenyang and Zhangjiagang to further enhance market competitiveness and expand win-win partnerships with local partners, and Shenyang will put into production a new pure electric 3 series.

Regarding the Zhangjiagang base, Gao Le said that the beam project is already on the right track. Plant construction, product research and development and other work as scheduled. More details will be covered in further details next year.

In addition, BMW also said that in 2022 will push 5 pure electric models, about the five pure electric models specifically: innovative BMWiX3 in the first full sales year is expected to sell up to 20,000 vehicles, sales will continue to increase next year; innovative BMWiX redefines the future of luxury travel; innovative BMWi4 will be a new benchmark for electric driving fun; next year will show the first pure electric luxury flagship sedan BMWi7; next year will be put into production in Shenyang pure electric BMW3 series. By 2023, the BMW Group will launch around 13 pure electric models in China.

Focus on digitalization, electrification and sustainable development

Tightly around "digitalization" and "carbon neutrality"

According to Gaulle, the digital "3" represents the three main directions of the BMW Group's strategy: digitalization, electrification and sustainable development. In response to rapid market changes, BMW is strengthening its partnerships with Chinese high-tech companies.

In terms of digital development, bmw established Lingyue Digital in Beijing in 2019 to focus on creating seamless customer digital journeys. At present, the MyBMWApp jointly developed by Lingyue and BMW's R&D department has reached 3.4 million total users, of which more than 1.4 million are monthly active users.

In the field of production, BMW Brilliance's digital factory is a model for the application of "Industry 4.0" technology, and next-generation production technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence are widely used, taking the lead in achieving full coverage of 5G networks in the world.

In 2025, the BMW Group will launch a pure electric platform with a new architecture called "New Generation". It features a completely redesigned IT and software architecture, a new generation of high-performance electric drive systems and batteries, a new sustainability benchmark for the circular economy, and a significant increase in the use of recyclable materials. The "new generation" model will be a key driver for BMW to deliver 10 million pure electric vehicles over the next 10 years.

At the scene, Gaole mentioned the numbers "200 million" and "1.5" respectively. The number "1.5" means that the BMW Group is the first German car manufacturer to join the "Corporate Ambition to Contribute to the 1.5°C Temperature Limit Target". The figure "200 million" refers to 200 million tons, representing the BMW Group's goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 2030.

To this end, BMW has upgraded its sustainability goals--- the average life cycle carbon emissions of bicycles in 2030 will be reduced by 40% compared with 2019. BMW will be monitored by a science-based carbon reduction initiative and will combine the results of carbon reduction in its annual corporate financial reports.

(Edited by Zhang Mingfu)