BMW is by far the most resolute and fruitful luxury brand in the electrification transformation. On March 16, the BMW Group held its annual earnings meeting, presenting its latest progress and plans in electrification.
In fiscal 2021, the BMW Group's global sales of new energy vehicles increased by 70% to more than 320,000 units, accounting for 13% of the BMW Group's total sales. In China, bmw group sales of new energy models exceeded 48,000 units, an increase of 69.6% year-on-year, and since 2014, the BMW group has delivered nearly 140,000 new energy vehicles in China.
Whether in terms of total volume, growth rate or depth of electrification, it is the leader among luxury brands.
After that, how will the BMW Group promote electrification?
Through the financial report information and the speeches of the top management, we can summarize the short-, medium- and long-term strategy of BMW electrification.
In the short term (2022-2025), BMW still holds high the concept of "power of choice", providing internal combustion engine, plug-in hybrid and pure electric options for the same car;
In the medium term (2025-2030), BMW will launch a "new generation" model with pure electric architecture, while gradually increasing the proportion of pure electricity to 50%;
In the long run (after 2030), some of its brands are completely purely electrified, supplemented by hydrogen fuel cells as a supplement to zero emissions, but there will still be a certain proportion of internal combustion engine models.
01
Short-term: A car's multi-power strategy continues
At the earnings annual meeting, the most eye-catching thing was bmw spoilers for the all-new i7. The car will be released in April alongside BMW's new 7 Series models.
The BMW i7 is the first all-electric luxury flagship sedan that will have a range of over 600 km.
Brand new 7 Series
The new BMW 7 Series is still boldly breaking through and innovating in the inheritance. The outer outline of the front double kidney grille is large in size and is lit up with a halo, which looks expensive. Daytime running lights are made up of luxurious crystal elements that shine like jewels.
Inside, the new 7 Series will feature BMW's latest digital technologies, including My Modes and the latest generation of BMW's iDrive operating system.
The all-in-one suspension curved screen, which was first used on the iX, is used again on the new 7 Series. The interior is also designed with a BMW wrap-around interactive light strip that runs through the entire front dashboard and doors, and the strip also integrates function buttons. The roof is also newly designed with a panoramic star rail canopy, which can control the color of the LED light on the canopy according to personal preference.
The rear has a 31-inch suspended giant screen
Another very prominent feature is that the rear row of the new BMW 7 Series introduces a BMW floating giant screen. The screen measures up to 31 inches, boasts an ultra-wide ratio of 32:9 and a resolution of up to 8K.
BMW has high hopes for the car.
"The Innovation BMW iX and The Innovation BMW i4 are widely acclaimed, as evidenced by the strong customer demand in itself. This year, the pure electric BMW i7 will take the BMW electric model to new heights and will be an important part of our continued success and leading change," said Chiptzer, Chairman of the BMW Group. The new BMW 7 Series is the next trump card in our successful growth strategy in the luxury car segment, which will be the first luxury sedan in the BMW luxury segment to offer an internal combustion engine, plug-in hybrid and pure electric drive.
The new BMW 7 Series model that provides three powertrains at the same time is a common strategy for BMW in recent times. It is also another manifestation of Chiptzer's concept of "the power of choice". Chiptzer argues that it is up to the consumer to decide which drive to choose, rather than imposing on the consumer.
The first to realize the three powertrains of a model was the BMW X3. It includes the pure electric iX3, and the internal combustion engine, plug-in hybrid X3.
The 3 series sedan has also just realized the combination of internal combustion engine, plug-in hybrid and pure electricity. Although the 3 series of pure electricity, that is, the new i3 has not yet been officially released, it has been announced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
MiYA announcement map of the new i3
Other car series may not have achieved three powertrains for the same car, but many have two powertrains to choose from.
For example, the 4 series has both an internal combustion engine version and a pure electric i4; in the 5 series, there are both internal combustion engine versions and 5 series plug-ins; X1 and X5 have both internal combustion engines and plug-and-mix versions...
In addition, BMW also plans to continue to enrich the powertrain of a model for choice. The 5 Series and X1 will also introduce pure electric models, realizing the same car's three powertrains.
Through this strategy, the BMW Group will rapidly expand its capacity for new energy vehicles. Pure electricity, for example, in 2022, the BMW Group will mass-produce and trial-produce 15 pure electric vehicle models, covering about 90% of the market segment.
Until 2025, BMW will continue to promote electrification with this strategy. Their goal is to deliver 2 million pure electric vehicles worldwide by the end of 2025.
In addition, according to Chiptzer, in order to ensure the production of existing models, the BMW Group has also made full preparations for the supply of key components. For example, in order to ensure an adequate supply of batteries, the BMW Group has increased the purchase of batteries equipped with the fifth-generation eDrive electric drive system from 12 billion euros to more than 20 billion euros.
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In the medium term: The new generation of pure electric models will be launched
Three power for one model is BMW's recent strategy. BMW also recognizes that consumer demand is gradually shifting to electric, and the development of pure electric models will also bring comparative advantages.
BMW's neue KLASSE model, which is based on a new architecture and equipped with the sixth-generation eDrive electric drive system, will roll off the production line with its first pilot model in 2024 and will be launched in 2025.
It seems that BMW's new generation of models is later than the pure electric platform of many car companies. But to see, the new generation of models is new from the inside out, from soft to hard.
First of all, the platform proposed by many car companies is only a power system platform. BMW pure electric system platform, eDrive has long been launched. By the new generation of models, it will be the sixth generation of eDrive. The sixth-generation eDrive electric drive system combines performance and cost control, and has a new chemical and battery form, which will enable the battery pack to have higher energy density and the vehicle's range is longer.
BMW has also begun to develop a seventh-generation eDrive, which will consider how to apply solid-state battery technology.
Secondly, the platforming of many models is limited to the generalization of the chassis platform. BMW's new generation models not only have a new design for intelligence in terms of software. Based on the new software and automotive electronic architecture, BMW's new generation of models will deliver revolutionary and innovative designs that deliver a digital customer experience.
In addition, BMW will continue to adhere to the new sustainable concept of the vehicle life cycle in the new generation of models, prioritizing the use of reusable materials and advocating a circular economy.
Therefore, BMW's new generation of models is a new architectural concept, which not only has more outstanding performance, function and experience, but also is more environmentally friendly, and can effectively reduce the cost of bicycles.
After the launch of the new generation of models in 2025, BMW's new architecture will certainly widely empower various sub-brands and models to form a number of competitive intelligent electric products.
Based on this, by 2030, the BMW Group plans to deliver a total of 10 million pure electric vehicles to customers.
At that time, the other three brands of the BMW Group will also be fully electrified:
The Rolls-Royce brand will complete the electrification of all products;
The BMW Motorrad urban mobility series will be fully electrified;
The MINI brand will also move towards full electrification from the early 1930s.
"By 2030, at least half of all global sales will be pure electric vehicles. We are doing everything possible to achieve this ahead of schedule. By then, the annual sales volume of pure electric vehicles will exceed 1.5 million units. Ziptzer said.
Chiptzer speaks at the annual earnings conference
03
Long-term: pure electricity, hydrogen energy at the same time
After 2030, pure electric crosses the threshold of half of sales, and it will be a one-horse flat river after that.
However, BMW cars will not all be purely electric.
BMW believes that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will be an important supplement to pure electric power, and it is also another focus of BMW's new energy technology. BMW has also been working closely with Toyota Motor, which is committed to hydrogen fueling
This year, BMW's iX5 Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle will also undergo small-scale mass production. BMW has just announced that the iX5 Hydrogen has been tested in Sweden for extreme cold endurance, and the new car can reach a maximum range of 500km in extremely cold environments, and it can fill up the hydrogen storage tank in 3-4 minutes.
The iX5 Hydrogen is doing extreme cold testing
In the new generation of models that will be officially launched in 2025, there will also be models based on hydrogen fuel cell technology, providing consumers with another choice for sustainable travel.
BMW expects hydrogen fuel cell technology to be represented in the drive system portfolio from the second half of the 2020s onwards.
BMW not only does not bet on pure electric power alone, nor does it completely reject the internal combustion engine. Unlike some car companies that stop engine development or draw a timetable for the withdrawal of internal combustion engines, BMW insists on developing engines.
BMW's director of research and development, Frank Weber, stressed earlier this year that the engine is still needed. But the new engine is primarily designed to effectively reduce the car's carbon emissions. BMW is also preparing a new engine plant.
From this, it can be seen that not only in the near, medium, and even in the long term, BMW will provide products with internal combustion engines, but over time, the proportion will become smaller and smaller, and the fuel saving rate of internal combustion engines will also be greatly improved.
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BMW Brilliance's consolidation will bring a financial income of 7-8 billion euros
Since it is the annual financial report meeting, the performance of the company's operation is of course also the focus. In 2021, BMW led by Chiptzer achieved beautiful results.
In 2021, the BMW Group's global sales exceeded 2.52 million units, an increase of 8.4% year-on-year; BMW's sales in China were 846,000 units (including the MINI brand), an increase of 8.9% year-on-year, ranking first among China's luxury brands.
BMW's total revenue in the 2021 fiscal year reached 111.239 billion euros, an increase of 12.4% year-on-year. At the same time, net profit reached 12,463 million euros, an increase of 223.1% year-on-year.
In 2022, there have been unfavorable factors such as the War in Ukraine, the lack of core, and the soaring price of materials in the world, but Ziptzer said that BMW's sales this year are expected to be the same as in 2021 and will not see a significant decline. BMW also lowered its 2022 automotive division's profit margin forecast, expecting the EBIT margin of its automotive business to fall to between 7% and 9% this year.
In terms of financial performance in 2022, BMW will usher in a major positive.
From February 11 this year, BMW Group will hold 75% of the equity of the joint venture BMW Brilliance, the shareholding ratio of Brilliance China will be changed to 25%, and the cooperation period of the new joint venture will be extended to 2040. With the change of equity, BMW Brilliance's statement is integrated into the group, which will bring more than 7 billion euros of financial results to the BMW Group.
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The iFACTORY standard is introduced
At the annual meeting, the BMW Group also presented a new standard for the production network – bmw iFACTORY. The BMW iFACTORY standard will be used at all BMW Group plants worldwide, including three vehicle plants and one powertrain plant at the Shenyang production site.
With the launch of iFACTORY, BMW's expectation is to provide a global solution to the transformation of production networks in the electric age.
BMW's first iFACTORY will be at its debrecen plant in Hungary. The plant is scheduled to break ground in June this year, and in 26 months, the prototype of the "new generation" model will roll off the production line here, and in 2025, the "new generation" model will officially go into production at the plant.
The iFACTORY can be said to have been born for electric vehicles, but will be applied to all BMW factories.
"With the official production of the 'new generation' model in 2025, the BMW Group's production network has also entered a whole new dimension, which we call BMW iFACTORY, and every BMW Group plant is preparing for this," says Chiptzer.
The most prominent feature of iFACTORY is green, expecting to be produced through state-of-the-art technology, minimal resource consumption, and a circular economy model.
The BMW Group aims to reduce the carbon footprint of bicycles in production by 80% compared to 2019 by 2030.
Overall, BMW is both aggressive and not aggressive in electrification, and continues to advance in accordance with its own strategy. Moreover, in order to support the electrification of products, BMW has made strategic support at the R&D, procurement, production, sales, service, and financial levels. In meeting the challenges of electrification, BMW has demonstrated its organizational system capabilities as well as its flexibility.
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