Three car manufacturers, three major issues: China, scarcity of raw materials and the question of which cars can be electrified these days.
China, raw materials, electromobility – these are the three major issues that car manufacturers are dealing with these days. So it is only partly a coincidence that three car manufacturers are in the public eye with exactly these three topics.
First BMW. Here it is official: The Munich carmaker has taken over the majority of the joint venture with the Chinese carmaker Brilliance in China. After approval by the authorities in the People’s Republic, the contract agreed in 2018 came into force on Friday, BMW announced in Munich. At the same time, the joint venture agreement will be extended until 2040. Shenyang is the largest BMW plant next to Spartanburg in the USA and Dingolfing in Lower Bavaria. BMW now holds 75 percent and its partner Brilliance China Automotive the remaining 25 percent of the shares in the BBA joint venture. The price for the action: 3.7 billion euros. BMW sold 846,000 cars in China last year. In the BBA joint factory, 23,000 employees built more than 700,000 BMW cars for the Chinese market and for export.
Profit plus, but rising commodity prices put a damper on the mood
This Friday, the Stuttgart-based car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz was responsible for the topic of raw materials and is preparing for headwinds in the current year after a significant increase in profits. Chief Financial Officer Harald Wilhelm mentioned the rising commodity prices in front of analysts on Friday. Without higher car sales, it will not be possible to compensate for this effect: “It’s probably not just about higher prices.” Last year, the Stuttgart-based company made more profit than originally assumed. According to preliminary figures, adjusted operating profit (EBIT) at Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans improved to 14 billion euros in 2021 – more than twice as much as a year ago. At 12.7 percent, the return on sales is above the self-imposed range of ten to twelve percent. Wilhelm said Mercedes-Benz has benefited from a favorable product mix and higher prices. Because of the global shortage of chips, car manufacturers around the world cannot produce as many vehicles as planned, while demand for cars is strong. This drives up prices because significantly fewer discounts are given on new cars.
And then there is the topic of e-cars: the carmaker Opel wants to offer every one of its models as an electric car in two years and invest in significantly longer ranges for its battery vehicles. Customers will receive an electrified offer for every Opel model from 2024, said Opel boss Uwe Hochschütz Augsburg General. “Due to the framework conditions set by politics, it is now clear in Europe that combustion engines have an expiry date,” he said.