After the "ice cream" incident, BMW sold 3,034 more vehicles

Written by丨Wu Yixian, Wei Jingzhe Editor丨Yanzi is Chen Xiaoping

The ice cream incident had little impact on BMW's sales.

In early July, BMW Group disclosed data that BMW and MINI brands sold 197,800 vehicles in the Chinese market in the second quarter, 3,034 more than in the first quarter.

In terms of sub-regions, in the second quarter, its Chinese market performed strongly, with sales increasing by 16% year-on-year, second only to Germany.

BMW executives were satisfied, saying that "with our young and attractive products, we have won the favor of customers around the world."

3 months ago, an ice cream put BMW on the cusp. The BMW MINI made two statements that consumers did not buy it.

An ice cream and two letters of apology affected BMW's reputation, but did not shake BMW's position.

Deep roots

In China, BMW has been working for nearly 30 years, with deep roots and special attention from the top management.

Entering the mainland market in 1994, the German car company's China strategy gradually upgraded, and the slogan became "Home in China".

The ice cream incident occurred during the Shanghai Auto Show. At that time, about half of the members of BMW's board of directors came to participate in the exhibition.

"In the future, we will add more Chinese elements." BMW Group Chairman Zipzer also stressed that China is the future.

The attitude may be flattering, and the sales are real.

In 2022, BMW sold a total of 2.4 million vehicles worldwide, with 790,000 units sold in the Chinese market, accounting for 33%.

In contrast, BMW sold only 360,000 vehicles in the United States and 250,000 in Germany during the same period, both of which are not as good as China.

The MINI sub-brand involved this time is relatively weak in China, and 28,746 units will be delivered in 2022, with a global volume of 292923 vehicles, that is, the domestic market also accounts for about 10% of the MINI global market.

From January to June, BMW delivered approximately 1,214,900 new vehicles, of which more than 392,000 were delivered in the Chinese market.

In the past year and a half, the Chinese market has contributed 30% of sales.

"China is both the world's largest automotive market and BMW's largest single market in the world." Zipzer is right.

BMW is committed to this potential market.

According to Tianyan, in February 2022, BMW increased its shareholding in BMW Brilliance from 50% to 75%. Previously, Zipzer said that an additional 25 billion yuan of investment in Shenyang was expected in the future.

In June 2022, BMW completed the upgrade of its Shenyang production base and started production. Previously, the site had produced more than 5 million BMW vehicles.

In 30 years, the number of BMW employees in China has increased to 2.8, second only to 84,000 at the German headquarters.

Undoubtedly, China is an extremely important existence for BMW.

China is BMW's largest market, and the market landscape is changing rapidly. In this rapidly emerging new energy market, BMW's sense of presence is not strong, and executives originally wanted to take advantage of the Shanghai Auto Show and other occasions to make high-profile oaths and refresh their cognition.

As a result, at the end of April, an ice cream, as well as two letters of apology, completely interfered with the signal to be sent at the top.

Transform in full force

Sales were strong in the second quarter, and BMW was not at ease.

In 2022, BMW's global sales reached a five-year low of only 2.4 million units, 120,000 fewer than in 2021.

In the Chinese market, BMW's sales are also declining, as are Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

Zhongsheng Holdings, now the largest luxury car dealer in China, disclosed in its financial report that in 2022, BMW sold 791985 new cars last year, a year-on-year decrease of 6.4%; Mercedes-Benz and Audi delivered 751714 and 642548 new vehicles, respectively, down 0.9% and 8.2% y/y.

BMW and other luxury car brands, mainly fuel models, are obviously affected by new energy vehicles.

China, the world's largest new energy vehicle market, is where the increment lies, with 5.365 million pure electric vehicle sales in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 81.6%, and a penetration rate of 22%.

In 2022, the BMW Group's pure electric models sold 41,900 units in China, with a market share of less than 1%.

In the first quarter of this year, BMW new energy vehicles sold nearly 20,000 units in China, and the domestic market sales in the same period were 1.586 million units, still hovering around 1%.

In BMW's strategy, electric models will account for more than 50% of annual deliveries by 2030, and strive to deliver more than 10 million electric vehicles in total.

According to this plan, even according to the 30% share of the Chinese market, BMW will sell 3 million pure electric vehicles in China in the next 8 years, an average of 375,000 vehicles per year.

"The BMW Group will continue to expand its industrial chain advantages in China and accelerate the deployment of electrified models."

Zipzer has decided to upgrade its R&D system in China and appointed Lei Kai as Senior Vice President of R&D for BMW China, responsible for R&D activities in China.

In the second quarter, BMW sold 135,000 new energy vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 42%, releasing a strong signal.

This is inseparable from the help of the Chinese market.

BMW China disclosed that from January to June, BMW sales of pure electric models increased by 283% y/y to approximately 44,900 units. Among them, the BMW iX3 and the all-new BMW i3 both sold more than 21,000 units.

BMW's sales of new energy vehicles have exceeded those of some "new forces" car companies.

In the first half of the year, NIO's cumulative sales volume was about 54,600 units, and Xpeng Motors' cumulative sales were about 41,400 units.

The storm has passed

In 2023, BMW intends to make a big deal in China, and the previous Shanghai Auto Show has a ceremonial significance.

At the auto show, BMW occupies the C position in Hall 7.1H.

Some people roughly calculate that the total market value of Hall 7.1H companies exceeds 2 trillion Hong Kong dollars, occupying half of the automotive industry, and is the most "golden" pavilion of this auto show.

BMW unveiled a number of electric vehicle products, such as pure electric BMW i3, i4, i7, iX1, iX3, iX and other models, as well as plug-in hybrid new BMW M760Le, innovative BMW XM Label Red Limited Edition.

There are three models that have chosen to make their world premiere in China.

Executives also flew in from headquarters to support the show. Zipzer attended together with director Noda and director Wei Bofan.

"The BMW Group is making a strong attack in the field of digitalization and electrification, and China will be a pioneer market for BMW to conceive and open up the future."

Zipzer just made a high-profile statement, the ice cream incident broke out, and the BMW MINI made two statements, which the public called perfunctory and arrogant, which caused a crisis of public opinion.

The ice cream incident, safe past, the source in BMW is still a strong brand, for the leader in fuel vehicles.

Changes are already brewing, and Chinese consumers have a lot of choices for new energy vehicles of about 300,000 yuan.

For example, the L7, an ideal car with a starting price of 319,800 yuan, sold more than 13,000 units in June. The NIO ET5, which also sold for more than CNY 300,000, sold more than 3,800 units in June.

In China's new energy vehicle market, BMW has lost the lead and is now a catch-up.

Although the storm has passed, when you accelerate to turn around, remember to hit the rocks again.