Component I
Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Welcome to our annual meeting.
The year 2025 will be a landmark year for the BMW Group in many respects—as we set the course today for our success in the years ahead.
Despite volatile global conditions, we remain firmly committed to growth in the current fiscal year. At the same time, we are bringing our largest future-focused project—the Neue Klasse—to the roads.
We have a clear plan: to stay strongly focused on innovation and sustainable growth. In 2025, we expect sales numbers to rise once again. At the same time, capital expenditure will decline, as planned. This will allow us to increase our free cash flow.
There are four reasons for our confidence:
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Our strategy is robust and provides a clear path forward.
We are setting the pace in key areas. Our technology-open approach continues to prove successful and is gaining even more traction. Policymakers and competitors are now moving in our direction—a strategy we continue to pursue systematically. -
The BMW Group is one of the few truly global players in our industry.
Our extensive international footprint creates opportunities, makes us resilient, and gives us the flexibility needed to respond effectively to external influences. -
With BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce, and BMW Motorrad, we have four strong brands.
Each has a distinctive identity and delivers emotionally compelling products for diverse customer segments around the world. -
Our Neue Klasse project.
No other manufacturer has a program as ambitious and groundbreaking as ours ready to enter production. I will address this in the second part of my presentation.
Strategic Direction
Let’s begin with the first topic: our strategic direction.
Our technology-open approach is market-oriented. It enables us to fully leverage potential across all markets and regions.
We make no distinctions—whether we’re talking about combustion engines, plug-in hybrids, all-electric vehicles, or, from 2028, hydrogen-powered cars. We consistently apply design principles, innovation, and cutting-edge technology across all our models.
No one masters this technological diversity better than we do—and numerous national and international awards confirm this.
Our approach is also gaining growing recognition among policymakers. Even our competitors are pivoting toward our strategy. We have demonstrated that technological openness, innovation, and CO₂ reduction are not only compatible but mutually reinforcing.
2024 Performance
Let’s take a look at 2024.
We met our adjusted targets for the year, delivering more than 2.45 million vehicles and achieving an EBIT margin of 6.3 percent in the Automotive segment.
Our vehicles with highly efficient combustion engines remain in strong global demand. At the same time, battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) continue to be our main growth driver.
Several other manufacturers—including those producing only electric cars—experienced declining sales. Yet we achieved growth with our all-electric models, even under challenging market conditions.
In 2024, BEV sales once again rose significantly year-on-year—up by more than 13 percent. Fully-electric vehicles accounted for over 17 percent of total sales last year. Including plug-in hybrids, nearly one in four cars sold was electrified.
We are targeting further e-mobility growth in 2025. This year, we will reach two major milestones:
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Over 3 million electrified vehicles sold, and
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More than 1.5 million BEVs delivered since the launch of the BMW i3 and BMW i8.
Our customers can now choose from over 15 BEV models across all our brands. One example is the new BMW iX*: its recently updated model boasts an impressive electric range of over 700 km (WLTP), combined with significantly increased power output.
That is BMW EfficientDynamics.
Our mix of electrified vehicles and highly efficient combustion engines also benefits our environmental footprint. In 2024, the BMW Group once again exceeded its European CO₂ fleet target—by more than 30 grams. Based on internal calculations, our fleet emissions fell below 100 g/km (WLTP) for the first time.
We will continue ensuring that our customers always have access to the latest technology—across all drivetrains. The key to this lies in the high degree of flexibility in our production network.
Global Footprint
This brings me to my second point: our global footprint.
The BMW Group is a truly international player. Very few automakers have such a broad presence across all major economic regions—in sales, R&D, production, and our supplier network. This global integration provides a strategic advantage that differentiates us in an increasingly fragmented world.
We remain committed to our local-for-local strategy. We continue to strengthen market access and supply chain resilience.
For example, we are establishing high-voltage battery assembly plants in our three key sales regions: Europe, the Americas, and China. In total, five new assembly centers for next-generation batteries are being built near our global production sites—each supported by regional supplier networks.
We are already laying the groundwork for future success.
Our production network is gradually adapting to the rising share of electric vehicles. Later this year, our new plant in Debrecen, Hungary will become our first facility to produce only all-electric vehicles. Our main plant in Munich will follow in 2027.
Our production follows market demand, and our model portfolio aligns accordingly. We produce roughly the same number of vehicles in our three major market regions—Europe, the US, and China—as we sell there. This balanced distribution is another key differentiator for the BMW Group.
Meanwhile, Germany and the United States serve as major export hubs. In 2024, we built over one million vehicles at our German plants—representing about a quarter of the country’s total automobile production. Of these, 56 percent were exported outside the EU—an impressive testament to BMW’s contribution to Germany’s industrial value creation.
In the US, one in every two vehicles from our Spartanburg, South Carolina plant is exported. In 2024, we achieved an export value of over $10 billion USD, making the BMW Group once again the largest automotive exporter in the US by value.
We benefit from an integrated global economy, which is why we continue to advocate for fair competition and free trade.
Brand Strength
Our third point: the strength of our brands.
The BMW Group’s success is built on the global appeal and emotional resonance of our four brands. Each caters to distinct customer needs and preferences worldwide.
In 2024, our core brand BMW fully leveraged its strengths: in three out of four regions, BMW grew sales and gained market share—maintaining its position as the global leader in the premium segment.
BMW performed particularly well in Europe. Italy, Spain, France, and the UK all reported double-digit growth. With a 6 percent increase, BMW significantly outpaced the overall European market, which grew by just over 1 percent.
In the United States, we achieved record sales for the second consecutive year. Our balanced drivetrain strategy again proved effective: we sold more than 50,000 electric vehicles in the US for the first time. As we celebrate 50 years of BMW North America, we remain optimistic about the year ahead.
In markets outside our core regions, we also achieved growth—despite a generally weak environment. We became the premium-segment leader in these regions for the first time ever, driven by strong demand in South Korea, Australia, and India.
China remains a key market for BMW. In 2024, more than a quarter of our vehicles were sold there. Despite a highly competitive and dynamic environment, we maintained our No. 1 position in the premium segment, with a 3 percent market share.
Last year, we delivered over 100,000 BEVs to Chinese customers for the first time, making China our largest single market for electric vehicles—despite subdued consumer sentiment.
Our high-margin BMW M models again played a vital role in 2024, with sales increasing for the 13th consecutive year. Nearly one in ten BMWs sold carried the M badge—with especially strong demand in China.
MINI, Rolls-Royce, and BMW Motorrad
2025 marks the first year with the complete New MINI Family available—five distinct models, three of them fully electric. The all-electric MINI Cooper Electric* leads this lineup, with sales of MINI BEVs growing 24 percent year-on-year. Nearly one in four MINIs now has an electric heart.
In the ultra-luxury segment, Rolls-Royce continues to set benchmarks. Sales remain strong at over 5,700 units, with the all-electric Spectre exceeding expectations in its first full year—now accounting for one in three Rolls-Royces sold.
BMW Motorrad also impressed in 2024, achieving a new all-time record with over 210,000 units sold—retaining its position as the undisputed global leader in the premium motorcycle segment.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
All of this demonstrates that the BMW Group is well-positioned across all brands, powertrains, and segments to continue its growth trajectory. Our global strategy enables us to balance shifts in regional demand.
Now, I will hand over to Walter Mertl for the Group Financial Statements for 2024 and an outlook on our 2025 objectives.
Component II
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Innovation and growth—these are the two major themes guiding us this year. At the same time, we stand on the threshold of a new era.
Later this year, we will launch our Neue Klasse—a project unparalleled in scale and significance in the history of the BMW Group.
With the Neue Klasse, we are transforming the future of mobility into reality. We have redefined every key element—driving dynamics, drivetrain, battery technology, user interface, and digitalisation—and even advanced a generation in design.
In doing so, we are not just redefining the BMW brand, but also the future of individual mobility.
Standing beside me is the BMW Vision Neue Klasse X—the series version of this model will mark the beginning of the Neue Klasse. Production will commence at our new Debrecen plant later this year. The rollout will continue rapidly, with a sporty sedan at the core of the BMW brand in 2026.
We are deliberately starting in high-volume segments: we want our innovations to have a broad impact, not remain limited to niche products.
Between now and 2027, we will launch more than 40 new or updated BMW models—from electric to plug-in hybrid to combustion. Each will embody the DNA of the Neue Klasse.
The Neue Klasse is BMW—and BMW is the Neue Klasse.
Technological Innovations
The Neue Klasse is more than a single vehicle. It marks the start of an entirely new generation—introducing innovation boosters that will benefit all future BMW models, regardless of drivetrain.
Let me highlight a few examples:
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BMW Panoramic iDrive reimagines our driver-focused cockpit. The new BMW Panoramic Vision—a fully redesigned Head-Up Display—projects information across the full width of the windshield.
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Seamless integration of various display and control elements enables a new level of intuitive interaction. Starting with the first Neue Klasse model, all future BMWs will feature BMW Panoramic iDrive.
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The 6th generation BMW eDrive technology will make e-mobility even more attractive. The new round battery cells deliver 20% higher energy density, 30% faster charging, and 30% more range. In just 10 minutes, enough energy for 300 km can be recharged.
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These Gen6 batteries also use 800-volt technology and enable bi-directional charging. On a comparable range basis, we will reduce high-voltage battery costs by 40–50 percent compared to the current generation.
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The vehicle electronics architecture has been completely reimagined. Four high-performance computers now control all major driving and infotainment functions, providing over 20 times the computing power of current systems—ready for continuous updates and AI-driven features.
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The new electrical system is simplified into four intelligent zones, reducing wiring by 600 meters, cutting weight by 30 percent, and improving energy efficiency by 20 percent.
We are also leveraging technology to push driving dynamics to an entirely new level.
The BMW Vision Driving Experience (VDX) demonstrates the potential of these innovations. With our in-house developed “Heart of Joy” software—one of the four vehicle “super-brains”—we are setting new standards for dynamic performance and efficiency in electric vehicles.
The VDX, capable of delivering 18,000 Nm of torque, embodies the purest form of Sheer Driving Pleasure.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We first announced the Neue Klasse at our Annual Conference in 2021. Four years later, we are in the final stretch.
Standing beside me is one of the prototype vehicles we have been developing in Debrecen since late last year. What’s still under camouflage today will be revealed at the IAA Mobility in Munich this September, where we’ll present the production model available to customers soon after.
I can already reveal one key detail: this BMW will launch as the BMW iX3—continuing the success story of the first all-electric BMW X model that has won fans worldwide since 2020.
Testing of the BMW iX3 is in full swing, and development of the sporty sedan—the second Neue Klasse model—is also advancing rapidly.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
What has always set the BMW Group apart is our ability to stay operationally focused in the present while laying the foundation for long-term success.
We will continue to pursue the BMW path—guided by foresight, customer focus, confidence, and a deep understanding of our strengths.
We are ready—more than ever.
Thank you.