BMW 2010 Annual Report Download - page 187

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
A year of new beginnings – what better way to sum up the 2010 fi nancial
year from the BMW Group’s perspective? Just one year after the global
fi nancial crisis, we achieved the best Group earnings in our company’s
history. The BMW Group remains the world’s top-selling manufacturer of
premium automobiles – and one that operates more sustainably than any
other company in its industry. This was confi rmed by the Dow Jones Sustain-
ability Index, which ranked the BMW Group fi rst in its sector for the
sixth
consecutive year. This is also part of what we understand premium to be.
We accept responsibility – for the environment, for society and for our
employees at all locations around the world.
2010 was a successful year for the BMW Group – a success made possible
by our customers around the world. More than 1.46 million customers pur-
chased a BMW, MINI or Rolls-Royce vehicle, and another 110,000 bought
aBMW or Husqvarna brand motorcycle. This shows how much trust con-
sumers place in the BMW Group and its brands, its performance and its inno-
vative strength. For this, I sincerely thank all of our customers.
We think and act with a long-term perspective. It is embedded in our
DNA. We set the right course back in 2007 with our Strategy Number ONE,
when we defi ned clear profi tability targets for the year 2012 and developed
our vision we intend to realise by 2020.
In this annual report, we highlight the measures that form the four pillars
of our strategy: “Growth”, “Shaping the future”, “Profi tability” and “Access
to technologies and customers”. You will be able to meet people we encounter
in our day-to-day business and read their stories in four photo articles.