In the automotive market, which is rethinking the speed of electrification, BMW updated its EV strategy during its release Complete 2024 Group Report. However, last year was clearly tough as revenues have fallen significantly compared to 2023.
BMW Group’s profit in 2024 was 1.0971 billion euros, down 35.8% in 2023. This was driven by a decline of 12.4917 billion euros from 5.6% in car revenue. Exclusion (transactions between subsidiaries) also increased 49.9% to 24.333 billion euros.
BMW’s electric vehicle sales are flying in Europe and overtook Tesla in July 2024, but cargo did not do much in China. The total sales of BMW and minicars in China fell from 13.4% to 714,500 units, despite an overall Chinese market for passenger cars increasing by 23.1%. This is due to a considerable hard competition with domestic Chinese domestic brands.
Overall, the BMW Group saw a 4% drop in car delivery, a 17% biggest decrease in mini brands, Rolls-Royce shipments fell by 5%, and BMW fell by 2%. The company says it expects an even worse impact in 2025 from the increased implementation of tariffs. So far, the collected amounts are included in the 2025 revenue margin forecast from 5% to 7%.
Despite challenging the outlook for 2024 and 2025, BMW Chairman Oliver Gyps was optimistic about the group’s future in his presentation of the 2024 report. Much of this revolves around the company’s Neue Klasse strategy, a fundamental rethink of brand design, platform and drivetrain focus, centering on sustainability, a key focus for BMW. The name will be returned to BMW Neue Klasse from the 1960srevived the fate of the company.
Most car manufacturers agree that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are the future. However, amidst the economic challenges of the past few years, the pace of change has been raised questionable. BMW navigates these challenges more effectively than some automakers. The company currently offers BEVs for most of its range, but continues to produce most of these on shared platforms with vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines, making supply and demand more easily.
Neue Klasse will mainly refocus on BEVs, but BMW hasn’t yet put all of their eggs in the electric basket. The company plans to develop internal combustion engine vehicles and hybrids for select markets, depending on customer demand. BMW keeps options open and still promises a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in 2028. The company is Road tests of hydrogen-driven version of the X5 SUV since 2023.
BMW committed to Neue Klasse during the pandemic in 2020. It is a bold move in such an uncertain age. It’s certainly putting money into your strategy. In 2024, BMW invested 9 billion euros in research and development and 11.8 billion euros in capital expenditures. Not all of this has fallen into electrification, some have fallen into digital transformation and development of production facilities.
The first Neue Klasse Car arrives this year in the same category as the popular X5 and IX SUVs (which BMW calls sport activity vehicles). Initially, this was built on modernized plants in Debresen, Hungary. The save will soon be followed by a BMW 3 Series segment sedan built in Munich, followed by four more new models within two years of production. Neue Klasse Cars will also be producing brand new San Luis Potosi factory in Sheyang, China, starting in 2027.
2024 has been a challenging year for BMW, and while the turbulent tariff-led start to 2025 has sent shockwaves through its automotive supply chain, the company still looks to a positive future, with Neue Klasse Bev playing an increasingly important role.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.
