STATEMENT OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

Every era brings its own challenges. Your Company finds answers, offering meaningful solutions and consistently charting its own course – profitably, with confidence and a clear focus on the future. Our actions are grounded in over 100 years of expertise and market experience, a passion for individual mobility and our inherent ability to innovate. By anticipating market developments early, we consistently achieve major technological leaps at the right time, unlocking new potential for the entire Company. We are digitalising our business processes and our products – also by leveraging the vast possibilities of artificial intelligence.

We take a long-term approach to preparing for breakthrough innovations, making targeted investments in our future. In 2024, our investments reached new heights, with research and development expenditure of more than € 9 billion and capital expenditure of over € 11.8 billion. In the coming years, these upfront investments in electrification, digitalisation, our production network, our product portfolio and the NEUE KLASSE will fully pay for themselves – exactly as we planned.

BMW NEUE KLASSE – decided in 2020, start of production in 2025.

Technology-open and market-oriented: our strategic approach prevails.

If we look around our industry worldwide, there have been plenty of announcements and promises. Electromobility was long seen as the only path to the future – partly because it aligned with the prevailing mindset. Now, many manufacturers are reversing course and adjusting their strategy.

Your Company does not need to do that. We took a firm position from the beginning, even in the face of headwinds.

We did so out of conviction – and because the facts and business logic said something different. It is our technology-open approach that delivers a rapid climate impact in the here and now. Across all markets and regions, we exploit the available potential to the best of our ability: whether that means highly efficient internal combustion engines, plug-in hybrids or all-electric vehicles – or, from 2028 on, a production vehicle powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. This is why we deepened our partnership with Toyota last year.

Customers and markets develop in different ways and at different speeds. Anyone who ignores this is passing up market opportunities. For this reason, we will continue to provide the right options for different mobility needs worldwide, across all segments and technologies.

“BMW – late winner of the drivetrain transition”.

The idea of technology openness has since become firmly established among policymakers, the media and the public. It ultimately combines the exact two components our economy and society need equally on the road to climate neutrality: on the one hand, technology – constant progress through innovation; on the other, openness – in other words, the ability to respond with flexibility and versatility when external conditions or market realities change at short notice, without prejudging the outcome. This is the situation we are experiencing right now.

Our forward-looking approach is now recognised as a strategic advantage and robust business model. Evidence of this is provided not least by recent headlines, such as from the February 2025 edition of trade journal “auto, motor, sport” asserting: “BMW – late winner of the drivetrain transition”. I’m happy to leave it at that.

Our BMW 540d xDrive Touring* and MINI Cooper SE* were awarded the “Goldene Lenkrad” (Golden Steering Wheel) in autumn 2024, as the best vehicles in their respective classes. The “Car of the Year Award” for the BMW 5 Series and BMW i5* also marks the first accolades for a technology-open model series in the history of the award.

Our competitive edge:
flexible architectures and powertrain components.

Our architectures, which are able to accommodate all powertrains, form the backbone of our technological flexibility. We can also use different powertrain components and other parts in all vehicles, regardless of the architecture.

This is highly relevant, as it enables substantial economies of scale. For example, the BMW iX* relies on the same electrical powertrain components as the BMW i4*. The BMW i4* is based on a flexible architecture, while the BMW iX* uses a specially developed platform. The NEUE KLASSE will introduce a whole range of new components that can be used with different powertrains, including hydrogen, across the entire portfolio in the future.

One of your Company’s key strengths remains our plants’ ability to manufacture different model variants and drivetrain types on a single line. The ramp-up of electromobility is not linear, but progresses at different speeds across individual markets. For this reason, it has made sense up until now for our plants to be designed for flexible production – assembling vehicles with both conventional drivetrains and e-drives. This flexible substitution of drivetrain variants, combined with the smart allocation of vehicle concepts, ensures our delivery capabilities in varying market situations and maintains strong capacity utilisation at our locations. This secures and enhances our competitiveness.

Next step: e-mobility for plants Debrecen and Munich.

While other manufacturers in our industry are reducing capacity and even planning for plant closures, our new location in Debrecen, Hungary, will begin producing the first model for the NEUE KLASSE this autumn.

Following comprehensive refurbishment as a fully electric facility, plant Munich is poised to manufacture the second NEUE KLASSE model from 2026. Just one year later, Munich will only be producing electric vehicles. This will make our main plant the second all-electric facility in our global network, further enhancing efficiency. Our global production network remains agile and adaptable to different scenarios in the continued ramp-up of e-mobility.

2024: we met our adjusted targets and made the most of the conditions.

As you would expect from your Company, we had ambitious plans for financial year 2024. However, over the course of the year, things turned out differently. This includes the financial impact of delivery stops and recalls for the supplied Integrated Brake System (IBS) component, general market weakness in China and subdued demand for electric vehicles in several markets, with corresponding effects on pricing.

In light of these factors, we adjusted our guidance for the financial year in September 2024. We fought hard together to keep your Company on track. This clearly set us apart, leaving our established competitors far behind in last year’s sales figures. We achieved our adjusted targets for sales and financial key figures, by making the most of the changed conditions.

We delivered 2.45 million vehicles to customers worldwide in 2024. At Group and BMW brand level, sales in the key Europe and Americas regions were on a par with or higher than the previous year. The same was true in our markets outside the three main sales regions in total. In eight European countries, BMW held the top spot in the premium segment. In Belgium and Switzerland, we even led the total market. We also reported growth in the US, where we occupy a strong second place in the premium segment.

Although our sales figures in China decreased, the BMW brand successfully defended its position as segment number one. The fact that we sold more than twice as many electric vehicles in China in 2024 as two of our established German competitors combined also speaks for itself. Let us not forget that the whole Company has benefited from higher-than-average performance in the Chinese market for many years. Needless to say, we aim to return to a growth path in China very soon – in line with our strategic plan.

Our core BMW brand remains global number one in its segment. BMW M once again reaches all-time sales high.

Our core BMW brand maintained its position as the global number one in its segment last year. BMW’s share of the premium segment climbed to 21.7%.

For the 13th consecutive year, BMW M sales increased – surpassing 200,000 vehicles. BMW M GmbH plays a vital role in our overall success. Nearly one in ten BMWs sold in 2024 was an M model, with a healthy contribution margin. The best-selling M model was once again the all-electric BMW i4 M50*.

This Gran Coupé not only offers a thrilling driving experience, with a range of up to 522 kilometres (WLTP), but also demonstrates that our technology-open approach fully delivers in the performance and high-performance segment.

A word about BMW M Motorsport: The three current BMW M Motorsport racing cars – the M Hybrid V8, the M4 GT3 and the M4 GT4 – secured a combined 215 wins last season, competing in more than 1,000 races and clocking up over a million kilometres.

MINI aims to hit the ground running with NEW MINI FAMILY.

Our MINI brand aims to hit the ground running once more with the NEW MINI FAMILY. Of the five models, three are all-electric vehicles. MINI makes a valuable contribution to both our all-electric vehicle sales and our CO₂e footprint – as exemplified by the new fully electric MINI Aceman*. Most importantly, the brand boasts a very large and very loyal fan community. The new MINI Convertible* entered production at plant Oxford in the UK in November 2024.

Rolls-Royce launches Black Badge Spectre*.

Our Rolls-Royce luxury brand, which achieved the third-best result in its history last year, unveiled four new models. In the coming years, we will invest more than 300 million pounds to expand the manufacturing facility in Goodwood. This will be the largest investment since the plant opened in 2003.

BMW Motorrad once again posts record sales.

Our two-wheeled vehicles are also extremely popular, with the brand reaching a new all-time sales high of more than 210,000 BMW motorcycles and scooters in 2024. BMW Motorrad remains number one in the global premium motorcycle segment. Models like the R 1300 GS and S 1000 RR play a significant part in this. In fact, we sold more than 68,000 GS models alone. Moreover, when it comes to superbikes, our Double-R is the benchmark. Growth will continue this year with the new 1300 Series model family.

Highly attractive products remain the foundation of our success.

As you can see, your Company is ideally positioned across all brands, segments and drive technologies, with a broad, fresh and highly attractive product line-up. This year, one of our core brand’s most successful models will celebrate its 50th anniversary: the in-demand, high-volume BMW 3 Series. The latest generation of the BMW X3* is also extremely popular, which we produce at our plants in Spartanburg in the US, in our Chinese plant in Shenyang and in Rosslyn, South Africa. It has been rolling out in the markets since the end of February. At our largest European plant in Dingolfing, we have been producing the model update of the unique BMW iX* since March – a vehicle that boasts an impressive electric range of more than 700 kilometres (WLTP), with significantly more drive power and efficiency. In the premium compact class, the new BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé* will also launch soon. The new BMW M3 CS Touring* also joined our BMW M model line-up in March.

A total of more than 40 new vehicles will launch between now and the end of 2027 – spanning all brands and drivetrain variants. This means that our customers will continue to have choices.

New sales system for a holistic customer experience.

As you know, we are also structuring our sales system with a clear focus on the future. In this way, we can also enable customers to move seamlessly between online and offline channels throughout the purchasing process. It goes without saying that we are implementing the transition to direct sales in close consultation with our retail partners, starting with the MINI brand. We have already achieved stable operation in ten European markets, with another five going live in early March 2025. As this process progresses, we are identifying and implementing additional opportunities for optimisation.

It is also clear that the roll-out for our core BMW brand will be significantly more extensive, demanding the highest quality standards. We intend to build on our experiences with MINI and will be making intensive preparations for the BMW brand roll-out this year and next. Here, too, the transition will take place in cooperation with our retail partners.

All-electric vehicles remain key growth driver.

By the end of 2024, nearly one in four of your Company’s vehicles was electrified – either all-electric or powered by a plug-in hybrid drivetrain.

Looking specifically at our all-electric options, these vehicles already accounted for 17.4% of total BMW Group sales. At the MINI brand, about a quarter of all vehicles sold are already fully electric. At Rolls-Royce, it is even a third.

All of this demonstrates how dynamically and systematically we are driving the ramp-up of e-mobility – which is, and will remain, our key growth driver. Your Company is among the leading sellers of electric vehicles in the industry. Despite the challenging market environment, we delivered more than 426,000 all-electric vehicles to customers last year – exceeding the previous year’s figure by 13.5%.

Choice of more than 15 all-electric models.

Our customers are currently able to choose from over 15 all-electric models across all BMW Group brands. Our BMW charging card already provides customers with access to more than 670,000 charging points throughout Europe.

In 2025, we are once again targeting growth with our all-electric vehicles. Over the course of the year, we will reach two significant milestones: production of our three millionth electrified vehicle and our 1.5 millionth all-electric vehicle.

Once again, your Company outperformed EU CO₂ targets.

Our electrified models – along with our other highly efficient drive technologies – will contribute to continuing reductions in our fleet-wide CO₂ emissions. The same principle applies here: we can be relied on to deliver on our promises. In 2024, the BMW Group once again outperformed its CO₂ fleet target – by more than 30 grams! Based on our internal calculations, our numbers came in at 99.5 grams per kilometre at the end of 2024. The European Commission publishes the official data at year-end. Knowing your Company, you can rest assured that we will do everything possible to meet the significantly stricter targets for 2025 as well.

We need and support ambitious political objectives that are ultimately viable for businesses. The European Union’s long-range CO₂ requirements must be adjusted to market realities. This applies to the targets for 2030 and, especially, 2035. We believe the planned review in 2026 will be crucial in this regard. Europe needs, and benefits from, a strong automotive and supplier industry.

That is why the BMW Group is participating in the European Commission’s strategic dialogue on strengthening the competitiveness of the automotive industry. We view it as a positive sign that the Commission is now focusing once more on Europe’s competitiveness with the “Green Industrial Deal”.

Your Company is committed to free trade and fair competition.

You, our shareholders, understand that, as a global player, your Company is dedicated to free trade and ensuring a level playing field across regions. Tariffs, on the other hand, hinder free trade, slow down innovation and make products more expensive – setting a negative spiral in motion. That is why we are standing firm on the issue of additional EU tariffs on imports of electric vehicles from China, which came into force in October 2024 and also apply to our models produced there. Together with BMW Brilliance and our joint operation Spotlight, we have therefore filed a lawsuit against the EU.

We will vigorously oppose negative developments and trade barriers. Since the same applies to duties on vehicles imported from the US into the European Union, we have proposed that the EU send a positive signal by establishing a uniform tariff rate of 2.5% on both sides. Our proposal for a level playing field has garnered a lot of attention.

Our global footprint – differentiating factor and competitive advantage in a fragmented world.

In addition to political targets, geostrategic and protectionist developments around the world are more critical than ever to the business success of global companies like the BMW Group. Following decades of global free trade during the era of globalisation, the pendulum is now swinging back towards protectionism, resulting in a power struggle between international systems. We are witnessing a race for raw materials, access to critical technologies and energy availability. How can we successfully maintain our business model? How can we gain market share and continue to grow, while staying out of geopolitics?

We align our product development, our structures and our individual market strategies with local conditions, always remaining adaptable and flexible – without losing sight of our long-term goals. Today, we benefit, in particular, from having set the right course early on and steering the Company in the necessary strategic direction.

In the past decades, the BMW Group has not only accessed sales markets worldwide, but also established a strong presence, with our own value creation, in the key regions around the globe. You are already familiar with the principle behind this: “production follows the market”. At all our locations, we create added value. This is becoming more and more of an asset, and even a unique selling point, for the BMW Group. In light of the changing global environment and the trend towards regional market barriers, local value creation is increasingly a requirement for future market success.

In addition to production, research and development, and sales and marketing, our presence in key economic regions also includes local supply chains and partnerships. This enables us to respond quickly to unforeseen events and makes your Company more resilient overall. Today, the BMW Group is one of few genuine global manufacturers in our industry.

Largest US automotive exporter by value – 30 years of value creation in South Carolina.

This year, we are celebrating “50 years of BMW North America”. In January 2025, the BMW Group also received the “Honorary Sandlapper Award” from South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, recognising 30 years of commitment in the state.

We were honoured by both the South Carolina Senate and House of Representatives. The BMW Group is the first Company to receive such an honour. Without BMW, development in the region would have taken a very different path.

Our footprint in the US remains a valuable asset. According to data published by the US Department of Commerce in February 2025, your Company was once again the leading automotive exporter from the US by value last year. Plant Spartanburg exported almost 225,000 BMW X vehicles last year, worth over 10 billion US dollars, bringing the total export value since 2014 to more than 104 billion US dollars.

Balanced sales and production volumes across global regions – our unique selling point.

Our global footprint has already evolved to the next level, achieving a balanced global distribution of value creation. This means: our sales and production are balanced within regions. In Europe, the US and China – our largest single market – we sold roughly the same number of vehicles in each of these regions in 2024 as we produced there.

Spartanburg provides a good example of this: the plant produced just under 400,000 BMW X models last year. This corresponds almost exactly to our US sales volume for the year. One out of every two vehicles from our largest plant was also sold in the US.

We also continue to strengthen our home base in Germany in a targeted manner through local value creation: our German plants produced more than one million vehicles in 2024. Your Company therefore accounts for a quarter of the country’s total OEM passenger car production – as confirmed by an evaluation conducted by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA).

The BMW Group’s global distribution of value creation forms an important foundation for your Company’s resilience, strengthening its ability to navigate trade policy and geopolitics. We are also mitigating the risks associated with possible currency fluctuations.

“Local for local” – also for high-voltage batteries.

We also apply our “local for local” global production strategy to the manufacture of high-voltage batteries, as part of the e-mobility value chain.

Assembly of the sixth generation (Gen6) of our high-voltage batteries for the NEUE KLASSE will take place at five new cutting-edge production facilities being built close to our vehicle plants: in Irlbach-Straßkirchen (Lower Bavaria), Debrecen (Hungary), Shenyang (China), San Luis Potosí (Mexico) and Woodruff, near Spartanburg (USA). This approach safeguards production of high-voltage batteries from unforeseen political and economic events, strengthens our existing locations, and preserves and creates jobs at these sites.

Gen6 high-voltage battery concept: 30% faster charging, 30% more range.

With the sixth generation of BMW eDrive technology, your Company has achieved a quantum leap in technology, offering up to 30% faster charging and around 30% more range – in certain models, even more. For the first time, the Gen6 high-voltage batteries also feature the latest 800-volt technology and enable bidirectional charging. Gen6 will be used in the NEUE KLASSE, starting this year, and will subsequently power the BMW Group’s all-electric product range.

Sustainability as a key element of our corporate strategy.

The same applies to sustainability and climate protection: we act in a farsighted and reliable manner, conduct ourselves transparently and consistently meet legal requirements. To this end, we will continue to refine our target system in 2025, with a clear focus on impact.

We take a holistic view of the entire value creation process, from the supply chain through production to energy consumption on the roads.

We have further developed our goal to reduce our carbon footprint per vehicle by 40% by 2030 in line with new EU requirements: compared to 2019, we will save at least 40 million tonnes of CO₂e by 2030. At many plant locations, we rely on self-generation of renewable energy – in each case the type that is most suitable locally. Be it solar power, wind energy, geothermal energy, biomass or district heating.

Since 2020, we have obtained all the external power required for our plants worldwide from renewable sources. We have contractually agreed on the use of green electricity with a large number of our suppliers. At product level, we use the vehicle footprint to make CO₂e data transparent over the entire life cycle, the proportion of secondary material, efficiency and supply chain security for new BMW and MINI models. We are working with partners to establish a circular economy that enables high-quality recycling of steel, aluminium, glass and plastic. We ourselves will increase the proportion of secondary material in our vehicles in the future along the “Secondary First” principle.

NEUE KLASSE – MORE THAN EVER: Embarking on the next era of tech leadership.

We are entering the home stretch as we bring the Company’s largest-ever future-oriented project to the roads. At the IAA MOBILITY in Munich this September, the all-electric BMW iX3 will celebrate its world premiere as the first model of the NEUE KLASSE. This will also signal the beginning of the fundamental renewal of the entire BMW model range, across all drive technologies.

The new BMW iX3 will set the standard for driving experience, electrification and digitalisation alike. At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the unveiling of the new BMW Panoramic iDrive met with great success. It is our tech expertise in digitalisation and driver orientation that sets BMW apart. With this world premiere, we also provided significant impetus for how our innovations are perceived in China. With the launch of the NEUE KLASSE, all BMW models will feature the new display and operating concept.

We are also taking BMW’s original strength, “Sheer Driving Pleasure”, to a whole new level. At the Auto Shanghai in April, we will showcase the next highlight on our road to the NEUE KLASSE with the “BMW Vision Driving Experience”. With its strong emotional appeal, the VDX is the most powerful development prototype BMW has ever built. It showcases in impressive style what is technologically feasible. This is made possible by our “Heart of Joy” for driving dynamics – one of four highly integrated electronic control units developed in-house for the NEUE KLASSE.

In the models of the NEUE KLASSE, the four high-performance computers we refer to as “superbrains” cluster the computing power for key customer functionality around infotainment, automated driving, driving dynamics and basic functions. These four “superbrains” provide more than 20 times the computing power of the current systems, ensuring long-term security for upcoming software and function updates, including AI features.

As you can see, all our future products will benefit from the quantum leap in technology achieved with the NEUE KLASSE. This will be made possible by relying on our technology clusters, which can be integrated into all future vehicles, regardless of the drive technology.

The success story continues.

Dear Shareholders,

Your Company is renowned for outstanding technologies, groundbreaking innovations and highly emotional products. We promise our customers the signature driving pleasure and unique experiences our brands are known for. That is both our mission and our obligation. It is how we drive the development of our industry and set the benchmark for our competitors. It secures our business model. We are growing profitably and gaining market share. As shareholders, you benefit from the long-term success of your Company – and we are continually creating the conditions necessary to ensure this.

The US-based Consumer Reports tested 32 brands in its latest report, ranking BMW first for luxury brands and second industry-wide. Evaluation criteria included road testing, reliability, customer satisfaction and safety. The BMW Group also performed exceptionally well in renowned employer attractiveness rankings. For instance, Germany’s Trendence Barometer named the BMW Group the best employer for professionals, graduates and specialists for the 13th consecutive year.

Opportunities can be found in every environment: the BMW Group truly believes this – and this mindset will continue to guide us in financial year 2025.

We have set ourselves ambitious goals. Our successful technology-open approach, our compelling product line-up and the launch of the NEUE KLASSE will give us the momentum we need.

Our strategy is grounded in facts, experience and continuous assessment of the current situation. It has proven robust – especially in challenging conditions. We remain on course to achieve our long-term goals. At the same time, we are able to respond with a high degree of flexibility if our environment changes unexpectedly.

We understand our challenges and remain committed to charting our own course – MORE THAN EVER.

The heart of BMW beats around the globe. Your Company is made up of more than 159,000 employees at more than 30 production locations and across our sales network in over 140 countries. It is important to our entire team that you, our shareholders, continue to support us and stand behind our long-term strategic direction. On behalf of all our employees, I would like to sincerely thank you for this.

Oliver Zipse
Chairman of the Board of Management