When the automotive industry underwent dramatic changes, China became not only the world's largest automotive market, but also an innovation center for the transformation of the automotive industry.
Since the beginning of this year, the market penetration rate of New Energy Vehicles in China has approached 20%. China Electric Vehicle 100 people predict that the annual sales of electric vehicles in China will exceed 5 million in 2022 and reach 7 million to 10 million in 2025. From 1 million to 10 million vehicles is a few years, which also shows the speed of change in the global automotive industry and the new energy industry from one side.
In the center of the whirlpool of the times, traditional car companies are also actively transforming and moving closer to the Chinese market. Recently, the BMW Group announced the upgrading of its China strategy, adhering to the principle of "China first", maintaining synergy between its corporate strategy and China's development goals, and continuously strengthening its win-win situation with its Chinese partners.
BMW Shanghai R&D Center
The BMW Group's Strategic Upgrade of China can be described by a string of "simple" numbers: "1" refers to the "China First" principle; "2" refers to the fact that both BMW and MINI brands are rooted in China; "3" refers to the firm transformation along the three directions of electrification, digitalization and sustainability; "4" refers to the four R&D and digital bases in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang and Nanjing; "5" refers to the five BMW pure electric models that will be presented to Chinese customers in 2022; " "2025" represents the "new generation" models that will arrive in 2025; "200 million" and "1.5" represent bmw group carbon reduction targets to 2030 and commitment to the 1.5 degree temperature control target of the Paris Agreement, respectively.
The electric offensive accelerates the launch of five all-electric models in China next year
In 2021, BMW has a strong record in the Chinese market: 669,637 BMW and MINI vehicles were delivered in the first three quarters, an increase of 19.6% year-on-year; as of the end of November, a total of 42,081 new energy vehicles were delivered, an increase of nearly 66% year-on-year, of which the BMW iX3 sold more than 17,000 units, and the annual sales volume is expected to reach 20,000 units.
In the process of electrification transformation, BMW will further implement the "China First" policy. Gao Le, President and CEO of BMW Group Greater China, revealed that in 2022, the BMW brand will present five pure electric models for Chinese users, including the innovative BMW iX, the innovative BMW i4, the BMW iX3, and the pure electric BMW 3 series produced in Shenyang. In addition, a pure electric flagship model will also be unveiled in the next year. By the end of 2023, the BMW Group will offer around 13 pure electric products in the Chinese market. It is expected that by 2025, a quarter of the BMW Group's sales in the Chinese market will be pure electric vehicles.
Innovative BMW iX
As an important time node of BMW's strategic transformation, 2025 will also usher in the release of bmw group "new generation" models. The model will feature a completely redesigned IT and software architecture, a new generation of high-performance electric drive systems and batteries, and a new sustainable concept throughout the vehicle lifecycle. Gao Le said that the "new generation" model will be a key driving force for BMW to deliver 10 million pure electric vehicles in the next 10 years. It is reported that in the development process of the "new generation", the specific needs of the Chinese market will still be placed in the first place.
Dr. Peter, Global Finance Director of the BMW Group, recently said, "In the process of the BMW Group's transformation to electrification, digitalization and sustainable development, China is the best choice and the best partner. ”
Today, BMW employs more than 25,000 people in China, around 600 dealerships and a large and growing network of local suppliers. Since 2010, BMW's total investment in Shenyang production base has exceeded 73 billion yuan, which has strongly driven the development of the local economy. In 2022, BMW will also welcome three new or upgraded plants in Shenyang and Zhangjiagang, and put into operation the second BMW pure electric vehicle in Shenyang, the Pure Electric 3 Series, further enhancing China's position as one of the three major new energy vehicle production bases in the world by the BMW Group.
BMW Brilliance Shenyang production site
The firm pace of transformation refers to the integration of local research and development
Since officially entering the Chinese market in 1994, BMW has experienced the fastest decades of social and economic development in China, and has explored and innovated with the Chinese automotive industry.
In recent years, BMW has continued to make efforts in the field of digitalization, and now it is once again emphasizing that it will continue to firmly pace the transformation. At present, the century-old car company has established the largest R&D and digital system outside of Germany in China in order to act more directly on local demand. Among them, the earliest Beijing R&D center is mainly responsible for vehicle engineering, testing and certification; the Shanghai R&D base focuses on digital products, software development and the connection with China's digital ecology; and the Shenyang R&D center focuses on the development of local electric vehicles and the research and development of domestic models after mass production.
BMW Beijing R&D Center
In terms of digital development, in 2019, BMW established Lingyue Digital in Beijing to focus on creating seamless customer digital journeys. At present, the My BMW App, jointly developed by Lingyue and BMW's R&D department, has attracted 3.4 million users and more than 1.4 million monthly active users. At the same time, in order to open up the online and offline user experience, BMW is promoting the "BMW Network Leadership Project" to about 600 dealers across the country to optimize the customer's brand experience through software and hardware upgrades and digital transformation, and more than one-third of the dealers have completed this upgrade.
In 2021, BMW accelerates its digital pace. In Nanjing, BMW and ArcherMind Technology jointly established a research and development company to use China's local software strength to deepen in-vehicle software development, and set up a Lingyue Nanjing branch in Nanjing, aiming to provide agile and efficient IT R&D and technical solution services for the production and service of BMW operating enterprises in China. In addition, BMW has also actively cooperated with a number of Chinese companies focusing on the digital content of vehicles and machines to promote digital innovation.
In the production sector, BMW is also deepening its digital transformation. Taking BMW Brilliance's digital factory as an example, it integrates new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and 5G, and is widely used in the production process, which is a model for the application of "Industry 4.0" technology. Dr. Wei Lande, President and CEO of BMW Brilliance, said he has visited many automotive plants around the world and BMW's Shenyang production site is groundbreaking.
BMW Brilliance Digital Factory
Whether it is expanding the R&D layout in China, building a digital factory, or joining hands with Chinese technology companies to promote digital innovation, there is a clear feedback, that is, BMW attaches more importance to Chinese users and understands the Chinese market better. The main task of the former local R&D center was to make better localization adaptations for global models. But now, the demand of Chinese users is the demand for technology that is ahead of the global wave of updates. Only by meeting the needs of Chinese users can we stand out in the global competition.
As Gao Le puts it, "Innovation bases in China aim to translate customer wishes and needs into competitive products while tapping into the potential of Chinese technology." ”
Write at the end:
Home in China, looking at the world. China has rich industrial chain resources in the field of intelligence and electrification, as well as a huge user group, which is not only a large market for automobile consumption, but also the best testing ground and source for automobile companies to launch an innovation campaign.
For BMW, innovation and exploration have been integrated into the brand gene in the century-old development process. At the transition node of the times, BMW has always been able to maintain innovation in technology and concepts, make forward-looking and innovative judgments and put them into action.
As Dr. Peter said: "China's trend will lead the direction of the world", BMW sees China's vision in the era of new energy vehicles, and will also work together with Chinese society in the future to create a win-win situation.