Jeff Seabrook

Lausitzring. Overall, the BMW M Motorsport teams endured a difficult DTM weekend of ups and downs at the Lausitzring (GER). In Saturday’s race, important points were claimed by defending champion Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) in fifth, his Schubert Motorsport team-mate René Rast (GER) in eighth and Marco Wittmann (GER) in tenth place. Problems in qualifying on Sunday pushed the BMW M Motorsport drivers to the back of the grid, but Wittmann in particular gave a superb recovery performance. There was another reason to celebrate for Rast as on Sunday, he completed the 100th DTM race of a career that has included three title wins.

Although the BMW M4 GT3 was generally unable to keep pace with the leaders at the Lausitzring, van der Linde, Rast and Wittmann coped pretty well in qualifying on Saturday and secured fifth, eighth and tenth positions in the race, having started from the middle of the pack.

They had worse luck in qualifying on Sunday with a red flag five minutes before the end of the session. It proved impossible for them to get their tyres to the right temperature after the restart, resulting in grid positions of 15th for Rast, 21st for van der Linde and 22nd for Wittmann. However, the trio of BMW M works drivers displayed plenty of fighting spirit in the race as they gave impressive recovery performances. Wittmann in particular had a sparkling drive to move up from 22nd to ninth place. He fell back to tenth place due to a post-race five-second time penalty. Rast finished eleventh, while van der Linde claimed 13th position. Sandro Holzem (GER) enjoyed two respectable finishes on his second DTM weekend, securing 17th and 18th places in the second BMW M4 GT3 from the Project 1 team.

Reactions to the DTM weekend at the Lausitzring:

Sheldon van der Linde (#1 BMW M4 GT3, Schubert Motorsport): “I am particularly proud of the fifth place that we achieved on Saturday. I think that was the absolute maximum that we could have achieved, under the conditions that we had with the BMW M4 GT3. Unfortunately, we dropped a lot of points on Sunday due to qualifying and some minor incidents in the race. That is disappointing, but I am still very much in the title race – and now there are some circuits coming up that should suit our car better. We will continue to go full throttle.”

René Rast (#33 BMW M4 GT3, Schubert Motorsport): “I finished in the points in both races, but overall, the points gain is meager. I would have naturally expected something more for my 100th race. It was evident that we didn't have the prerequisites to be competitive this weekend. I was the highest-placed BMW driver with P15 in qualifying on Sunday – I think that says it all. In the race, I gained a few positions, but more wasn't possible.”

Marco Wittmann (#11 BMW M4 GT3, Project 1): “I view the weekend with mixed feelings. I scored points in both races and my race pace was really very good, especially on Sunday. But, of course, my aspiration is to be competing at the front. We aren’t managing that right now. As a team, we just don’t have the experience of the individual circuits. That is particularly noticeable in the practice sessions, as we spend longer searching for the right set-up than the more experienced teams. In the meantime, we are really good at reaching the level of the others for the race and gave good performances, but overall we still have room for improvement as we look ahead to the upcoming races.”

• Higher sales target and automotive EBIT margin for 2023
• Group EBT margin comes in at 12.6% for HY1
• Automotive EBIT margin at 10.6% after six months
• Free cash flow of € 3.1 billion in Automotive Segment in YTD June
• Deliveries of fully-electric BMW vehicles up 133%
• Zipse: “Economic success during the transformation”

Munich. The BMW Group delivered a strong financial and operating performance in a difficult environment in the first half of 2023. In the first six months, the premium automotive manufacturer achieved a Group EBT margin of 12.6% and an EBIT margin of 10.6% in the Automotive Segment. In the second quarter, the Group EBT margin came in at 11.3% (Q2 2022: 11.3%). In the Automotive Segment, the EBIT margin increased to 9.2% (Q2 2022: 8.2%).

As previously reported in an ad hoc announcement, the company is now planning for solid growth in deliveries for the full year 2023 (previously slight growth). Growth drivers should be highly priced models as well as fully electric vehicles.  BEV models are set to account for 15% of total vehicle sales. The EBIT margin in the Automotive Segment is now projected to be within the range of 9-10.5% (previously 8-10%).

“Strong products generate strong demand – across all drive technologies. The second quarter underlined how the broad range of technologies we offer is winning over customers: Sales of vehicles with highly efficient combustion engines provide us with a solid foundation – the strong growth comes from the significant increase in demand for our fully-electric vehicles,” said Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, on Thursday. “We are combining both: systematic transformation and economic success. At the same time, we are aligning the company, with focus and determination, for the future – while maintaining our high level of profitability.”

With its popular premium vehicles, the BMW Group benefited in the first half of the year from the positive development in many automotive markets. The company delivered a total of 1,214,864 vehicles to customers (2022: 1,160,094 units; +4.7%). The volume of electrified models sold during this period increased significantly to 245,468 units (2022: 184,468 units; +33.1%), while deliveries of fully-electric vehicles doubled to 152,936 units (2022: 75,890 units; +101.5%). BEVs therefore accounted for 12.6% of sales in the first half-year (2022: 6.5%; +93.8%) and 14.1% in the second quarter.

With the launch of the new i5* from October this year, the BMW Group will have at least one fully-electric variant on the roads across its main model ranges and all three premium brands. By 2024, at least one in five of the company’s new vehicles should be a BEV; by 2025, one in four.

BMW brand once again takes top spot in global premium segment

With a total of 1,071,326 vehicles delivered to customers in the first six months, the BMW Group reported solid year-on-year sales growth of +5.4% – and also increased its second-quarter deliveries significantly. (HY1 2022: 1,016,228 units; Q2 2023: 553,369 units; Q2 2022: 496,432 units; +11.5%). Thanks to its strong brand and young and attractive product line-up, BMW once again topped the global premium segment in the first half-year.

The BMW brand’s sales growth was, to a large extent, thanks to its fully-electric vehicles. With a total of 133,927 electric vehicles delivered to customers, it once again more than doubled BEV sales from the same period of last year (+133.1%). The most in-demand BEV models were the BMW i4*, BMW iX3*, BMW iX* and the fully-electric 3 Series sedan: the BMW i3*. The newly introduced BMW iX1* achieved a steep demand curve within just a few months on the market.

The high-end models of the 7 series, the updated BMW X7, and the BMW X5 and X6 SUVs also drove sales growth.

The company expects further momentum in the second half of the year from the market launch of the new BMW 5 Series and the fully-electric BMW i5, in particular, from October 2023. For the first time and as the first automotive manufacturer in Germany, the BMW Group is offering a system for partially automated driving at speeds up to 130 km/h that has been approved for German motorways in its new BMW 5 Series. This Highway Assistant allows the driver to take their hands off the steering wheel while driving.

The MINI brand delivered 71,816 vehicles to customers in the second quarter of 2023 – an increase of +10.2%, compared to the previous year (HY1 2023: 140,357 units; (HY1 2022: 140,675 units; -0.2%). During the same period, the brand reported sales growth of +8.8% for its fully-electric vehicles. Since last year, the brand's most popular model has been the fully-electric MINI Cooper SE*. The MINI product line-up now also includes the first fully-electric MINI Cooper SE Convertible.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars handed over 3,181 vehicles to customers (-0.3%) in the first half of 2023. During this period, production of both its Wraith and Dawn models was phased out, and sales remained on a par with the previous year. Initial deliveries of the highly sought-after fully-electric coupé, Rolls-Royce Spectre, will get underway in the fourth quarter of 2023.

BMW Group sales increase in three main world regions

In the three key regions of the world, Europe, the Americas and Asia, BMW Group sales were up slightly after the first six months. Compared to the weaker prior-year quarter, the premium brands made significant second-quarter gains in some cases. The Americas region and the US reported double-digit growth rates (HY1 2023: Americas: 225,645 units/+10.2%, USA:  186,122 units/+12.5%; Q2 2023: Americas: 117,790 units/+11.5%; USA: 95,948 units/+13.6%).

In Europe, sales increased slightly to 449,264 vehicles in the first six months (HY1 2022: 434,235 units/+3.5%). The second quarter ended with solid gains, at 232,994 units (Q2 2022: 213,842 units/+9.0%).

In Asia, the BMW Group recorded slight sales growth in the first half-year, delivering a total of 513,169 premium vehicles to customers (HY1 2022: 495,559 units/+3.6%). In China, sales were also slightly higher, at 393,261 units (HY1 2022: 379,524 units/+3.6%), with the aftereffects of the coronavirus pandemic still being felt in the first quarter. In the second quarter, deliveries to customers in China rose significantly to 198,161 vehicles (Q2 2022: 170,571 units/+16.2%). The Asia region also posted significant sales growth to reach 261,242 units (Q2 2022: 230,494 units/+13.3%).