BMW remains steadfast in EV strategy for future mobility
German premium automaker BMW Group has achieved its business objectives for the fiscal year of 2023 as projected, notwithstanding robust competition and a challenging market environment.
The BMW Group, which owns the brands of BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, achieved revenue of 155.5 billion euros ($168 billion) during the period, an increase of 9 percent year-on-year. A total of 2,554,183 premium vehicles were delivered to customers in the year, up 6.4 percent over the previous year.
In China, the world’s largest vehicle market, a total of 824,932 BMW and MINI vehicles were sold, up 4.2 percent year-on-year.
“The auto market is changing quickly and new technology emerges every day. We stand firmly with our strategy to meet diversified customer needs. No matter the drivetrain, we always deliver Sheer Driving Pleasure to our customers,” Oliver Zipse, CEO of BMW Group, said in an interview last week.
Battery electric vehicles served as the primary catalyst for growth, with deliveries of more than 375,000 fullyelectric cars to customers worldwide in 2023, jumping 74.2 percent yearon-year.
The BEV sales accounted for around 15 percent of total sales, reaching the automaker’s established objective.
Together with plug-in hybrid models, the BMW Group sold more than 560,000 new energy vehicles in 2023, a growth of 30.5 percent over the previous year.
In the Chinese market, which is at the forefront of electrification, the BMW Group delivered around 100,000 BMW BEVs in 2023, soaring 138 percent year-on-year. The automaker plans to offer 11 BEV models to Chinese customers this year.
To showcase its vision of future mobility, BMW unveiled the Vision Neue Klasse X last week, which is considered as “a big step for the future of the BMW brand and its products”.
The Neue Klasse model will feature a fully-electric new cluster architecture with a new user interface concept, highly efficient generation of drivetrains and batteries, and enhanced circularity throughout its life cycle, according to BMW.
“The Neue Klasse is much more than just a car or a specific concept. It is redefining the BMW brand and at the same time, will be more BMW than ever,” said Zipse.
The Neue Klasse models have commenced road testing, with global production slated to begin in the second half of 2025.
At least six Neue Klasse models will begin production across the BMW Group’s worldwide network within the first 24 months of production.
In China, production of the Neue Klasse will begin from 2026 in BMW’s Shenyang factory in Liaoning province.
As an innovation-driven company, continuous investment in research and development, along with an efficient R&D system and an exceptional R&D team, serve as the cornerstones for maintaining BMW’s leadership in the industry.
The BMW Group’s commitment to R&D has remained steadfast, with investment surpassing 6 billion euros for three consecutive years.
In 2023, investment surged to 7.54 billion euros, an increase of 13.8 percent year-on-year, representing around 5 percent of its total revenue.
The investments primarily targeted three areas: R&D on further electrification and digitization of the vehicle portfolio, autonomous driving and the development of new models including the Neue Klasse, according to BMW.
In 2024, the production network associated with the Neue Klasse will be further expanded and the BMW Group will reach a peak of capital expenditure and R&D investment, it said.
The company has had its R&D function set up in China for nearly 20 years, growing as the largest and most complete R&D network outside Germany.
It has four R&D and innovation bases located in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang and Nanjing equipped with full-process automotive R&D functions as well as full-stack connected vehicle software development capabilities.
In the past three years, BMW tripled its R&D team in China, currently comprising more than 3,000 R&D and digitalization talents. The focused fields include software development, autonomous driving and user interface design. Chinese R&D and design teams are also extensively involved in critical aspects of BMW Neue Klasse models.
In 2023, the Shanghai R&D Center was further upgraded in July, and the Phase II expansion of the Shenyang R&D Center was officially opened, which strengthened BMW’s local development and validation capabilities for NEVs. The facility features 19 new laboratories, 17 of which are dedicated to testing NEVs.
Adhering to the BMW iFACTORY production strategy, the Gen6 High-Voltage Battery project in China involves a total investment of 10 billion yuan ($1.39 billion), and the main building has been completed.
The new production facility is expected to lay the foundation for advancing the BMW Group’s latest technology in China as well as lowcarbon, high-efficiency and high-quality HVB production, accelerating the pace toward the Neue Klasse in China.
“As an automotive company rooted in China for 30 years, we have witnessed the rapid development of the Chinese auto industry, and we are honored to have been a part of it, benefiting from China’s favorable business environment,” Zipse said in the interview.
“While expanding our business footprint in China, we have been investing in China and making a contribution to support China’s sustainable and qualitative development,” Zipse said, adding that the BMW Group always regards free trade as an important fundamental principle.
The auto market is changing quickly and new technology emerges every day. We stand firmly with our strategy to meet diversified customer needs.”
Oliver Zipse, CEO of BMW Group