BMW 2013 Annual Report Download - page 65

65 COMBINED MANAGEMENT REPORT
have been taken, the benchmark rate is nevertheless
likely to persist at a historically low level until at least
the end of 2014, thus ensuring that money markets
remain more or less stable.
Given that the rate of growth of the global economy
is forecast to accelerate slightly in 2014, we expect credit
risk levels to remain stable in all regions.
Used car markets in Asia and Europe in 2014 are fore-
cast to perform on a level with the previous year. In the
North American market, however, we expect to see a
slight drop in price levels.
Expected impact on the BMW Group in 2014
Future developments on international automobile mar-
kets also have a direct impact on the BMW Group. At
the same time that competition is likely to intensify in
contracting markets, new opportunities are opening
in growth regions of the world. In some countries,
sales volumes will be influenced to a great extent by the
way we tackle new competitive challenges. The state of
health of Europe’s various markets remains the greatest
source of uncertainty. By contrast, we expect the mar-
kets in North America and China to develop positively.
Thanks to our global presence, we are ideally placed
to
exploit the potential arising in these markets and
thus compensate for unfavourable developments in
other regions. We are therefore confident that our strong
brands will continue to help us steer a successful course.
We will be helped in this endeavour by our attractive
range of models and services, which are designed to
meet the needs of individual mobility. We will also push
ahead with our investment in innovation, future tech-
nologies and the further internationalisation of our
pro-
duction network. With our focus on “premium”, we
are
able – as the world’s leading provider – to benefit to
an exceptional extent from high demand for premium
segment vehicles. Given all these factors, we forecast that
the BMW Group will remain the world’s leading premium
manufacturer in 2014.
Our highly flexible international production network
enables us to compensate for even substantial fluctua-
tions in demand. By investing in major growth markets,
we are laying the foundation for further growth. In
this context, it remains an important factor for us that
the global distribution of our sales is balanced, while
simultaneously expanding the global presence of the
BMW Group.
Outlook for the BMW Group in 2014
The BMW Group in 2014
Profit before tax: significant increase expected
We forecast that high levels of expenditure for future
technologies, intense competition and higher personnel
expenses will again have an adverse impact on the
pace
at which the BMW Group’s earnings rise in 2014.
Nevertheless, we forecast another successful year, with
Group profit before tax expected to be significantly
up on
the previous year’s figure (2013: € 7,913 million).
The
pace at which earnings grow will ultimately reflect
the impact of various trends currently shaping the auto-
mobile business. Continued difficult competitive condi-
tions in some markets are also likely to play a significant
role
in how sales volumes turn out. The level of uncer-
tainty is particularly high in Europe, whereas North
America and China could generate additional momen-
tum.
We expect both the Motorcycles segment and the
Financial Services segment to perform solidly in 2014.
Workforce at year-end: solid increase expected
The BMW Group will continue to hire staff on a targeted
basis in 2014. Qualified staff are required in order to
meet strong demand for cars and to develop new tech-
nologies, particularly in the field of electromobility.
The
increase of the size of the workforce should rise robustly
in 2014 (2013: 110,351 employees).
Automotive segment in 2014
Deliveries to customers (cars): significant increase expected
We forecast that the Automotive segment will continue to
perform well in 2014 on the back of strong sales volume
growth. Assuming economic conditions do not deterio-
rate, we forecast a significant rise in deliveries to cus-
tomers to
a new high level (2013: 1,963,798* units) and
thus, in all probability, enable the BMW Group to re-
main the
world’s foremost premium car manufacturer
in 2014.
We expect positive momentum to be generated by the
introduction of new, attractive models and from the
generally dynamic market conditions in North America
and China. If the economic situation in Europe does
not continue to stabilise, new challenges will have to be
faced, despite the currently visible slight upwards trend.
The BMW Group presented its new BMW M3 Sedan and
the BMW M4 Coupé models in February, both from the
high-performance segment, which are set to go on sale in
June.
* Includes cars manufactured by the BMW Brilliance joint venture.