BMW 2011 Annual Report Download - page 74

74
18 COMBINED GROUP AND COMPANY
MANAGEMENT REPORT
18 A Review of the Financial Year
20 General Economic Environment
24 Review of Operations
43 BMW Stock and Capital Market
46 Disclosures relevant for takeovers
and explanatory comments
49 Financial Analysis
49 Internal Management System
51 Earnings Performance
53 Financial Position
56 Net Assets Position
59 Subsequent Events Report
59 Value Added Statement
61 Key Performance Figures
62 Comments on BMW AG
66 Internal Control System and
explanatory comments
67 Risk Management
73 Outlook
currently at a high levels. The credit risk situation is also
expected to remain tense in these countries in 2012.
The consolidation process in the various dealer organi-
sations
will continue in some markets in 2012. As a
consequence, this trend could possibly have a negative
impact on credit risk expense within the industry. Sell-
ing
cars in European countries affected by the debt
crisis is likely to be more difficult than ever.
Outlook for the BMW Group in 2012
The past year was a highly successful one for the BMW
Group. In the Automotive segment we surpassed the
sales volume target of more than 1.6 million units that
we had set ourselves, thus strengthening our position
as the world’s leading premium car manufacturer. The
Financial Services segment recorded dynamic growth
and continued to make a key contribution to the BMW
Group’s performance. The Motorcycles segment also
showed that it is in good shape compared to its com-
petitors.
There are, however, indications that the high pace of eco-
nomic growth seen in the past year will not continue in
2012. Shadows are also being cast by general concerns
regarding the stability of the financial system and fears
of adverse developments in the sovereign debt crisis.
Under these circumstances, the reliability of forecasts is
somewhat impaired.
Despite these concerns, the situation looks promising
for the BMW Group. We laid the foundation for our
current success with our Strategy Number ONE. We
enter
2012 with a very young, attractive model range.
Global demand for our vehicles remains strong. The
BMW X family and the BMW 1, 5, 6 and 7 Series in par-
ticular are all enjoying an extremely high degree of
popularity. Building on this solid base and with a clear
strategy in mind, we will add numerous new and revised
models to our product range
in 2012.
The latest BMW 3 Series Sedan was launched in February
2012. Now in its sixth generation, this much-loved model
is still setting standards in its class. The new BMW 3 Series
won broad international acclaim upon making its world
debut in October 2011. The Sports Sedan is the best-sell-
ing premium model and will provide the sales volume
performance of the BMW Group with additional drive.
The BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé, the first four-door Coupé
in the brand’s history, will appear in June and be fol-
lowed by the model revision of the BMW 7 Series in July.
In March, MINI is adding a new sixth member to its
family of models, the MINI Roadster, following the
launching of the MINI Coupé in October 2011.
We attach great importance to our strategy of continuing
to achieve a reasonable balance of growth in all regions.
By investing substantial amounts in our international
production network we are building the basis for sus-
tainable profitable growth in the future. In this context,
we are currently expanding local production capacities
in China. Including the new Tiexi* plant, the plan is to
h
ave the capability to produce up to 300,000 vehicles p. a.
at the Shenyang site in future. In the medium to long
term we also plan to produce up to around 350,000 vehi-
cles p. a. at the US Spartanburg plant. Furthermore, ca-
pacities are also being raised in South Africa, India and
Russia. Some € 2 billion are being invested in production
sites in Germany during the years 2011 and 2012.
The BMW Group is a profitable business, built on a
strong financial base. We therefore possess the neces-
sary scope to maintain our strong competitive position,
even in a highly volatile environment, and simultane-
ously shape the future of the BMW Group.
Investing in innovative technologies is the key to achiev-
ing steady growth. Our Efficient Dynamics technology
embodies a ground-breaking strategy and, with it, we
have succeeded in substantially reducing levels of fuel
consumption and emissions across our entire fleet.
It is helping us maintain our leading position in efforts
to reduce CO2 emissions in the premium segment. Con-
nected Drive – which aims to connect vehicles with
the surrounding environment – has become the second
major focus of our development activities. These inno-
vations increase road safety levels, offer greater con-
venience and create new options for receiving both in-
formation and entertainment while on the move.
In September 2011 we presented the two concept vehi-
cles BMW i 3 and i8 to the global public and provided
an insight into how mobility will function in the future.
The BMW i 3 is due to come onto the market in 2013 as
the BMW Group’s first series-built electric car for city
use. It will be followed shortly afterwards by the BMW i 8
featuring a plug-in hybrid engine set to combine the
dynamic flair of a sports car with the consumption of a
compact model. One common feature of these two vehi-
cles, apart from the new drive train technologies, is the
extensive use of CFRP. Both of these innovative vehicles
* Joint Venture BMW Brilliance