AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)04/15 Report--

On April 14, German Chancellor Schultz arrived in Chongqing for a visit to China. This is Schultz's second visit to China since he became prime minister, and it is also the first Western leader to visit China this year.

With regard to the EU countervailing investigation into Chinese electric vehicles, Schultz said that there will one day be Chinese cars in Germany and Europe, and the only thing that must always be clear is that there must be fair competition. In other words, there is no dumping, there is no overcapacity, there is no copyright infringement, and it is also important to allow enterprises to set up production facilities without bureaucratic obstacles. Schultz also says that's why whenever he visits China, he talks about a level playing field, and of course he wants German companies to be unrestricted.

It is understood that Siemens CEO Bleuren, Mercedes-Benz Chairman Kang Linsong and BMW Chairman Chipze will accompany him on the visit to China. Chipze, chairman of BMW, said that this year coincides with the 10th anniversary of the establishment of an omni-directional strategic partnership between Germany and China. BMW Group has been rooted in China for 30 years and has benefited from Germany's free trade and China's high-level policy of opening up to the outside world. BMW Group is full of confidence in the future of the Chinese market and is determined to continue to invest in China and make greater contributions to deepening Germany-China cooperation. Chipze stressed that at present, it is all the more necessary to strengthen international cooperation, promote smooth trade, promote growth, seek prosperity, and expand employment. He said that China is where the future lies, and it is also the largest market of BMW Group in the world. BMW Group's continued success in China cannot be separated from the continuous growth and development of its footprint in China.

In fiscal 2023, BMW Group's annual revenue reached 155.498 billion euros (1.21 trillion yuan), up 9 percent from a year earlier, while group profit before interest and tax climbed to 18.482 billion euros (144.71 billion yuan), up 32.0 percent from a year earlier, according to the financial report. Among them, profits before interest and tax in the automotive sector rose sharply for the whole year, reaching 12.981 billion euros (1016.5 yuan), an increase of 22.1 percent over the same period last year.

BMW Group's revenue and profit growth is largely due to BMW's rising delivery volume in the global market. According to data, BMW delivered 2.554 million new cars in 2023, an increase of 6.4 per cent year-on-year. In terms of sales distribution, BMW's top three global sales markets are China, the United States and Germany, with sales of 824000 vehicles, 395000 vehicles and 281000 vehicles respectively in fiscal year 2023.

According to the product plan, BMW's new generation model will be launched on the global market in 2025 and at least six models will be put into production within the next 24 months, and the first new generation model will be made at BMW's Shenyang plant in 2026. BMW expects pure electric models to account for more than 50 per cent of its annual global deliveries by 2030 and is expected to deliver more than 10 million pure electric vehicles in the global market. Chipze believes that China's new energy vehicle market is returning to normalization and that both the Chinese car market and the global market will continue to grow rather than decline.

At present, new energy vehicles, especially electric vehicles, is an important direction of the development of the global automobile industry. German car companies are seeking transformation, while China has become an important gathering place of new energy vehicle industry chain and innovation highland of smart car industry in the world. attracting German car companies to further expand their investment and construction in China.

On April 11, Volkswagen Group (China) announced that in order to deepen the localization R & D process and further focus its products on Chinese consumers, the Group has decided to invest 2.5 billion euros to further expand its production and innovation center in Hefei. It is understood that the two models of cooperation between Volkswagen and Xiaopeng will be put into production in Hefei, of which the first model is a medium-sized SUV, which is scheduled to be put into production in 2026.

Baird, chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Group (China), said, "relying on the strategy of'in China, for China', Volkswagen Group focuses deeply on customer demand, with faster development and stronger local research and development. Accelerate the pace of business adjustment in China. The continued investment in Hefei production and innovation center reflects the group's determination to strengthen local innovation strength."

According to the plan, by 2027, Volkswagen will provide 30 locally produced fuel vehicles and plug-in hybrid models. By 2030, Volkswagen Group will offer at least 30 pure electric models in the Chinese market. In the field of fuel vehicles, all major fuel models will be transformed to new energy vehicles.

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