Text/Shanshan Liu
Earnings is a mirror.
In 2021, when consumers decide to buy a luxury brand model, more people choose BMW. According to the data, in the whole year of 2021, the BMW Group achieved global sales of about 2.5215 million units, an increase of 8.4% year-on-year. This achievement also enabled the BMW Group to surpass Mercedes-Benz in the global market for the first time since 2016 and win the global luxury car sales championship.
However, even if the global luxury car sales crown position is ceded to BMW, it will not affect mercedes-Benz's ability to make money. Thanks to the rise in sales of high-end models and stable pricing, Mercedes-Benz achieved a turnover of 168 billion euros in 2021, an increase of 9% year-on-year, and a net profit of 23.4 billion euros, compared with 4 billion euros in fiscal 2020, an increase of 484% year-on-year.
Following BMW and Mercedes-Benz, the Audi brand sold a total of about 1.6805 million units in 2021, down 0.7% year-on-year, while the Audi Group achieved sales revenue of 53 billion euros and a net profit of 5.498 billion euros.
Under the multiple pressures of the new crown epidemic, the shortage of parts and components, and the sharp rise in raw materials, the automotive industry is under great pressure in 2021, but the overall performance of luxury brands is still leading in the industry. Among them, the first-line luxury brands represented by BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi (hereinafter referred to as BBA) have achieved particularly outstanding results.
BBA "earned over"
In 2021, the BBA set its own new "record".
Not only in the global market, BMW is also firmly in the chinese market to hold the top position of luxury brand sales. In 2021, BMW delivered a total of 846,000 BMW and MINI vehicles in the Chinese market, an increase of 8.9% year-on-year and accounting for nearly 34% of total global sales.
According to the data of the Association, BMW's best-selling model is the BMW 3 Series, which won the first place in luxury car sales with a performance of 170,000 units in the whole year. In addition, the 5 Series, X3 also has a growth rate of more than 10%, and BMW occupied three of the top five luxury models in terms of sales last year.
In 2021, Mercedes-Benz achieved sales of 758,900 vehicles in China, down 2% year-on-year, accounting for 32% of total global sales; while Audi's sales in China ranked third, with annual sales of 701,300 units, down 3.6% year-on-year, accounting for 41% of total global sales. In the camp of first-line luxury brands, Audi has the earliest layout in China, but with the surpassing of BMW and Mercedes-Benz in its sales, Audi's preferential margin at the market level is now greater than that of competitors.
Bmw returned to the position of luxury brand sales crown at the same time, but also handed over a beautiful financial report card. The BMW Group's pre-tax revenue reached an all-time high of €16.06 billion, up 207.5 percent year-on-year. The Group's net profit also set a record high of EUR 12,463 million, an increase of 223.1% year-on-year.
However, in terms of data, Mercedes-Benz's earning power last year was even better. According to the financial report data, the operating income of mercedes-Benz Group in 2021 was 167.971 billion euros, an increase of 9% year-on-year, EBIT increased by 340% year-on-year to 29.1 billion euros, and the group's net profit soared by 484% from 4 billion euros in 2020 to 23.4 billion euros. This is the first annual financial report released by the Mercedes-Benz Group after the completion of the split from Daimler Trucks.
In addition, Audi's sales volume did not increase, but its operating profit doubled. In the 2021 fiscal year, the Audi Group generated sales revenue of approximately EUR 53 billion, operating profit of EUR 5.5 billion (FY2020: EUR 2.569 billion), an operating profit margin of 10.4%, and a net cash flow of EUR 7,757 million. According to the analysis, this is inseparable from Audi's active management of the supply chain (lack of cores, rising raw materials), the improvement of fixed costs (modularization, generalized application), and the adjustment of product pricing strategies (BMW Mercedes-Benz pressure, competition from new forces).
For the forecast of the 2022 fiscal year performance, bmw group said that its automotive EBIT will remain at 8% to 10% in fiscal 2022; Audi Group expects to achieve 1.8 million to 1.9 million car deliveries in 2022, and sales revenue is expected to be between 62 billion and 65 billion euros; Mercedes-Benz, although cautious, also said that in 2022, its turnover will increase slightly, and the EBIT profit of continuing operations will be the same as that of the previous year.
Accelerate the electrification transition
Although the luxury car market is still the domain of BBA, in the face of the upcoming wave of "electrification", BBA is accelerating its layout.
Image source: BMW Group
According to the data, in 2021, bmw group pure electric vehicle sales of 103,000 units, an increase of 133.2% year-on-year; Mercedes-Benz EQ series in 2021 to achieve sales of 48,000 units, an increase of 154% year-on-year; Audi delivered 82,000 pure electric models, an increase of 57.5% year-on-year.
Although the delivery volume of BBA pure electric vehicles has increased significantly, it is not outstanding in the new energy vehicle market, and there is also a lot of room for improvement compared with its leadership position in the fuel vehicle market. This is one of the main reasons why the BBA is focusing on electrification when talking about the next step in its planning.
According to the plan, Mercedes-Benz will launch 21 new models in China in 2022, including 8 pure electric and plug-in hybrid models. Among them, two pure electric models, EQE and EQS SUV, will be launched in the second half of 2022. Around 2025, Mercedes-Benz will also launch a new electric vehicle platform, and the proportion of electric vehicles this year will exceed 50%. Mercedes-Benz said that the cash conversion rate of electric passenger cars will reach 0.6-0.8. "We hope that by 2030, if not fully electrified, electric vehicles will dominate. By 2025, R&D spending on fuel vehicles will be close to zero. Ola K llenius, chairman of the board of directors of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, said.
The BMW Group announced that it will mass-produce and trial-produce 15 pure electric models in 2022, and that the new electrified vehicles based on the new structure will start trial production in 2024 and will be unveiled in 2025. Chiptzer, chairman of the BMW Group, said: "The BMW Group expects to deliver a total of 2 million pure electric vehicles by the end of 2025. By 2030, the annual sales volume of pure electric vehicles will exceed 1.5 million units. At that time, bmw group rolls-royce, BMW Motorrad mobility series and MINI three major brands will also be fully electrified.
The strategy given by Audi is to plan to launch 20 pure electric models by 2026, accelerate the localization of production in the Chinese market, build new electric vehicle factories, optimize the sales system, expand new energy infrastructure, etc. The net cash flow of Audi Group is 7.757 billion euros, and the cash reserve is enough to support it to complete the layout of new energy.
The market is clean, but it has not affected the earning power of BBA in the slightest. However, the wave of electrification and intelligence also requires huge capital investment. BBA's current achievements in the field of electrification are still inferior to some new car-making forces, but the perfect system strength and superior profitability still provide a strong follow-up competitiveness and growth space for their electrification transformation.