MUNICH
BMW AG plans the biggest roll-out of new and revamped models in its history as the luxury-car maker fights back after losing the sales crown to Mercedes-Benz.
Over the next two years, the Munich-based manufacturer will unveil 40 variants, including the new X2 compact sport utility vehicle and full-sized X7 SUV. Chief Executive Officer Harald Krueger is seeking to revitalise growth after profitability fell to a six-year low in 2016 and sales slipped behind Mercedes for the first time in more than a decade.
“We are launching the biggest model offensive ever,” Krueger said at the annual press conference. “We have started a transformation unlike anything our company has seen before.”
The combative tone marks a turnaround after Krueger, who took charge in 2015, stumbled out of the gates. The revamped 7-Series sedan failed to challenge the Mercedes S-class, while the redesign of the 5-Series was cautious. Krueger is focusing on profitability instead of sales to conserve resources for a costly shift to an era of self-driving, electric vehicles, with a plan to release the autonomous iNext in 2021.
Rising costs
After spending 5.16 billion euros, or 5.5 per cent of its revenue, on research and development last year, BMW said it plans to invest at an even higher rate in the coming two years. Amid increased costs, the company predicted profit and revenue will rise “slightly” in 2017, and the automotive margin will remain in its range of between 8 per cent and 10 per cent.
BMW rose as much as 2.8 per cent to 84.77 euros and was up 2 per cent at 12:08pm in Frankfurt trading.
Beyond the 40 new models, BMW plans to boost its offering of lucrative, luxury vehicles to complement the top-of-the-line 7-Series sedan. The goal is to challenge Mercedes and make BMW “the strongest brand in this segment and significantly increase our sales volumes and revenues here by 2020,” Krueger said.
“Profitability is more important for us than the sales volume race,” said Chief Financial Officer Nicolas Peter. BMW’s global deliveries rose 5.2 per cent to 2 million cars last year, less than half the 11 per cent rate at Mercedes, which eased past its rival by selling 2.08 million vehicles.
