BMW Group combines successful core business with future-focused strategic decisions

The BMW Group continued to chart a course of profitable growth in the third quarter 2016 and revealed how the next stages of its Strategy Number ONE > NEXT will be implemented. As the world’s leading provider of premium products and services for individual mobility, the BMW Group recorded its best ever third quarter sales volume and net profit figures. The company also published details regarding the second phase of its electrification strategy.

“We posted new record earnings and continued to grow profitably – thereby maintaining a strong basis for the consistent implementation of our strategy,” said Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, on Friday. “We are already achieving measurable success in the areas in which the entire sector is judged, namely our successful electrification strategy, with more than 100,000 electric vehicles on the roads already today, and our consistent achievement of high profitability, which enables us to finance future investments from our own resources.”

Krüger continued: “BMW i has always stood for a great deal more than alternative powertrains: BMW i is our ‘spearhead of innovation’, ensuring that the BMW Group maintains its pioneering technological role. We have already proved this in the field of electric mobility – and we continue to write our own success story in the fields of automated driving and digitalisation.”

Three years after the successful launch of BMW i, the BMW Group is now ready to present the second phase of its electric mobility strategy. Alongside the previously announced expansion of the BMW i model range to include the BMW i8 Roadster and the BMW iNEXT, the BMW Group will press ahead with its plans to systematically transfer all-electric, battery-powered mobility to its core brands. The first step will be an all-electric MINI in 2019, followed by an all-electric BMW X3 in 2020.

“We are absolutely convinced that the mobility of tomorrow is sustainable,” said Krüger. “Years ago, we announced our unambiguous commitment to electric mobility and achieved technological leadership in this field. Growing customer demand confirms that we are on the right track and that now is the right time to take the next steps.”

In the third quarter alone, the BMW Group delivered more than 18,000 electric BMW i and BMW iPerformance vehicles to customers, twice the figure achieved in the same period last year. For the full year 2016, the BMW Group expects to sell more than 60,000 vehicles featuring either all-electric or plug-in hybrid powertrains.

Third-quarter sales volume of the BMW Group’s three premium brands (BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce) climbed by 7.1% to reach 583,499 units (2015: 545,062 units). These figures mark a new all-time high for a third quarter and safeguard the BMW Group's position as the world’s leading manufacturer of premium vehicles.

Third-quarter revenues rose by 4.6% to € 23,362 million (2015: € 22,345 million). Adjusted for exchange rate factors, revenues increased by 6.6%. At € 2,380 million, profit before financial result (EBIT) was slightly higher than one year earlier (2015: € 2,354 million; +1.1%). Group profit before tax (EBT) improved by 13.8% to € 2,575 million (2015: € 2,263 million). Net profit climbed by 15.3% to € 1,821 million (2015: € 1,579 million), a new record for a third quarter.

Nine-month sales recorded by the automotive segment rose by 6.2% to reach a new high of 1,746,638 units (2015: 1,644,810 units). The strategy of striving to achieve an evenly balanced distribution of sales worldwide continued to pay off, allowing fluctuations in individual markets to be compensated.

In the first nine months, Group revenues grew by 3.0% to € 69,229 million (2015: € 67,197 million). Profit before financial result (EBIT) edged up by 2.2% to € 7,562 million (2015: € 7,400 million). Group profit before tax (EBT) increased by 8.8% to set a new record of € 7,741 million (2015: € 7,114 million). Group net profit rose by 11.7% to € 5,411 million (2015: € 4,844 million), also marking a new record for the first nine months of a year.

The BMW Group is confident it will achieve its projected targets for the current financial year – largely thanks to its strong brands, its attractive product portfolio and the expectation that international automobile markets will continue their generally upward trend. These favourable factors contrast with high levels of upfront expenditure for new technologies, fierce competition and rising personnel expenses. The global political and economic environment is expected to remain volatile.