Anchoring a clear transformation route and sounding the clarion call for new energy development, the BMW Group has planned a clear route from many fields and is firmly accelerating towards the future of electrification.
Text/"Autobot" Wu Yu
If the BMW group were to vote in the election now, Oliver Chiptzer would be re-elected for at least two terms.
Chiptzer, Chairman of the BMW Group
Chiptzer took over as chairman in August 2019, and 2021 is his second full fiscal year at the helm of the BMW Group. The 2021 annual financial report released on March 16 shows that from vehicle delivery to revenue profit, BMW's performance has been full of red, which is the kind of fruitful, rich and sweet red.
Operations beyond 2019
In the past year, in the face of the global economic crisis, the coronavirus epidemic, and the shortage of semiconductor supplies, the BMW Group has not stood still, but has run forward, even more flexible and stronger than ever.
In 2021, BMW Group vehicle deliveries increased by 8.44% to 2,521,500 units; Group revenue climbed to 111,239 million euros, an increase of 12.4% year-on-year; Group pre-tax profit was 16,060 million euros compared to 5,222 million euros in the same period last year; pre-tax profit of the automotive business was 11,805 million euros, an increase of 9,083 million euros over the same period last year... However, these exciting data are not the whole truth.
Many car companies have released 2021 financial reports, and "sales have decreased, but profits have increased" is the most common expression. In contrast, BMW Group's vehicle delivery, operating income, and pre-tax profit have all returned to the right track, and many indicators have even doubled compared with 2019 before the outbreak of the epidemic.
From the financial data, the EBIT and pre-tax profit of the automobile business were 9.87 billion euros and 11.805 billion euros respectively, an increase of 119.38% and 164.27% respectively over 2019. Revenue, EBIT and pre-tax profit from motorcycles and financial services all achieved double-digit growth compared with 2019. Among them, the EBIT and pre-tax profit of financial services increased by more than 60% (compared with 2019).
In terms of the number of vehicle deliveries, BMW, Rolls-Royce and motorcycle deliveries increased by 1.28%, 9.53% and 10.9% respectively compared with 2019. The Group delivered 2,521,500 vehicles, a decrease of 16,800 units compared to 2019.
Under the dual pressure of the epidemic and the lack of cores, this is undoubtedly a remarkable achievement.
There is a "cool factory" to have a "cool car"
In his speech, Ziptzer proposed a new manufacturing system standard under the name of "BMW iFACTORY", providing a global solution for the transformation of production networks in the electric era. The future of automobile production will be redefined.
It is worth noting that this is the embodiment and practice of the concept of "circular economy" proposed last year, and also points out the direction for the "green" and "intelligent" transformation of BMW's manufacturing system. For the foreseeable future, the BMW Group's process and manufacturing system will be deeply reset using this as a "template".
Lean, green and digital are the key words of "BMW iFACTORY". Among them, "lean" stands for efficiency, precision and a high degree of flexibility, the ability to integrate different drive technologies and vehicle architectures into production; "green" means to build production through the vision of state-of-the-art technology, minimal resource consumption and circular economy; and "digital" means the use of data science and artificial intelligence in production, allowing employees around the world to connect in real time in a virtual way, develop and plan in real time on the same platform.
The debrecen plant, which will start construction in Hungary's second-largest city in June, will be built according to this standard, and the nearly century-old Munich plant will also be modeled on the "iFactory" with 100% electrification upgrades, implanted digital smart tools, and completely say "goodbye" to the manufacture of fuel vehicles.
In Shenyang, China, BMW Brilliance's Tiexi plant will open a new plant this year, and the Dadong plant is also undergoing a comprehensive expansion. There is no doubt that they will all adopt the BMW iFACTORY standard, and the use of digital tools such as 3D scanning, radio frequency identification (RFID) will become standard to have future-proof production capabilities.
Further digitization of processes and structures reduces costs, improves quality and efficiency, and helps BMW achieve its sustainability goals quickly and efficiently. Chiptzer said that I want to make it clear that the digital cool car will be manufactured in the digital "cool factory".
Electrification is speeding up again
In the second half of the speech, Chiptzer also "lifted" the veil of the electric version of the 7 Series , the BMW i7 , announcing that the flagship model will be officially unveiled in late April this year.
As of now, no luxury car manufacturer has carried out an electrification "revolution" on the flagship models of the main brand. Mercedes-Benz debuted in the EQS last year, but officials also insisted that the EQS could not be equated with the S-class.
The new BMW 7 Series will offer all-electric, plug-in hybrid and modern combustion engines, as well as L3 level autonomous driving, making it a trump card for BMW to lead growth in the luxury car market.
Although only a corner of the veil is unveiled, it can still be seen that the double circular headlights and the double kidney grille are reinterpreted, and the illuminated contours of part of the lamp body and the kidney-shaped grille are made of crystal glass; curved displays, dashboards and door lighting provide a unique visual and tactile experience...
The advent of the all-electric BMW i7 means that the Bavarian automaker has expanded the "definition" of a zero-emission car to its top-of-the-line models. Unlike the BMW 3 Series or X5, the 7 Series represents the advent of BMW– the BMW i7, not only demonstrating BMW's innovative prowess, but also expressing Ziptze's determination to advance electrification.
In 2021, the BMW Group's global sales of new energy vehicles increased by 70% to more than 320,000 units. In the most important Chinese market, sales of new energy models exceeded 48,000 units, up 69.6% year-on-year. Since 2014, the BMW Group has delivered nearly 140,000 new energy vehicles in China.
In order to continue this momentum, the BMW Group's electrification process has accelerated again. BMW will release 15 all-electric models this year, covering 90% of its existing market segment. In addition to the existing BMW i4, BMW iX and MINI SE, the all-electric BMW 3 Series long-shaft version is already in pre-production, and the purely electric drive BMW iX1 will also be available at the end of the year. If it can be imagined, the BMW 5 Series electric version is also in the process of being raised.
According to the plan, the "new generation" model based on the new structure will start trial production in 2024 and be unveiled in 2025; by the end of 2025, the BMW Group plans to deliver 2 million pure electric vehicles worldwide.
It can be predicted that the completely redefined IT and software architecture, the newly developed high-performance electric drivetrain, and the sustainability throughout the entire life cycle will not only make BMW electrification more dynamic, but also inject more momentum and passion into BMW's development. 【Copyright Notice】This article is the original manuscript of Automan Media, and may not be reproduced without authorization.