The BMW Group targets adaptability amidst market uncertainty

The BMW Group is well prepared to react swiftly and decisively to new developments from the COVID-19 pandemic.

As delivery volumes in key markets are not expect to return to normal, the BMW Group is developing strategies for various scenarios and is prepared to take additional measures to safeguard its financial position and use its underlying strength to steer itself through this challenging phase.

Even in the current situation, the BMW Group's strategic decisions are paying off. It set about meeting currently applicable CO₂ targets at an early stage, an important aspect of which was the decision to systematically electrify its model range.

With its Performance NEXT programme launched in 2017, the BMW Group has laid the foundations for achieving greater efficiency and stronger operating performance. One of the many positive outcomes of this initiative is that development times for new vehicle models have been reduced by as much as one third. On the product side, up to 50% of today's drivetrain variants will be eliminated from 2021 onwards in the transition to creating enhanced flexible vehicle architectures.

It has also strategically secured access to the raw materials needed to deliver electric mobility. Since the beginning of the current year, the BMW Group has been procuring the required cobalt and lithium directly and passing those resources on to the suppliers who manufacture battery cells.

The Group will also continue to electrify its fleet as planned, while making no comprimises when it comes to highly automated driving. Its iNEXT is designed to provide Level 3 autonomous driving performance on highways. The group is also continuing to invest in hydrogen fuel cell technology.

Furthermore, as a dependable partner within society, the group remains committed to training young people. By 2025, the Group intends to invest over $46 billion in research and development to further establish its role as an innovation leader.

As a pioneer of electric mobility, the BMW Group is already a leading supplier of electrified vehicles and currently in the process of expanding its range significantly. By the end of 2021, the BMW Group will be able to offer customers a choice of five all-electric series production vehicles.

In addition to the BMW i3, the all-electric MINI Electric went into production at the Group's Oxford plant in the U.K. at the end of 2019. This year, production of the BMW iX3 will begin at the Shenyang plant in China, followed in 2021 by the BMW iNEXT and the BMW i4 at the Dingolfing and Munich plants respectively - all of which will be equipped with fifth-generation BMW eDrive technology.

The next generation of the BMW 7 Series will also mark a new milestone. The BMW brand flagship is set to be available with four different drivetrain types - as a highly efficient diesel or petrol-powered version, as an electrified plug-in hybrid and, for the first time, as an all-electric model, which will also be equipped with fifth-generation electric drivetrain technology. With this combination, the BMW Group is underscoring its aspiration to offer every customer the right technology for more sustainable mobility.