Statement Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, 103rd Annual General Meeting of BMW AG in Munich on 11th May 2023.
ENPNewswire-May 15, 2023--Statement Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, 103rd Annual General Meeting of BMW AG in Munich on 11th May 2023
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Release date- 12052023 - Dear Shareholders!
Today is one of the days of the year that I particularly look forward to. At our Annual General Meeting, we stand before you, to answer your questions.
Of course, you want to know: what are we accomplishing at Team BMW Group - and, most importantly: What are our plans?
You are invested in a company with ambitious goals. Thanks to our focus and determination, you can rely on us to realise our plans - in the short, medium and long term, year in, year out. That is what you expect from us - and we deliver!
On that note, let me wish you all a warm welcome from BMW Welt in Munich!
You are our owners. The BMW Group must remain an attractive investment for you - in good times, but, also, when the world is suddenly a different place, as it was last year. 2022 was a difficult year. It touched us on a human level - and we helped where we could. But it was also challenging for us as a company.
BMW has held its own in the marketplace for over 100 years: This requires the will and the ability to change. However, our mission always remains the same: to lead your company into a successful future! We have the ability to act independently and make decisions with a long-term perspective. This not only sets us apart from others; it is also a genuine privilege - because entrepreneurial freedom increases our resilience and, in uncertain times, even becomes a competitive advantage.
We have entrepreneur Herbert Quandt to thank for all of this. Both his children and the BMW Group are equally committed to his legacy. That is why the company and its employee representatives always work together in constructive ways to find the best solution.
We stand together and we respect each other - that is how the BMW Group operates as a global team, with more than 30 production sites on five continents, research and development centres in 17 countries and 41 locations for sales and financial services.
Together, our BMW team is now 150,000 strong, with people from almost all nationalities and cultures, representing different age groups and ways of thinking.
This diversity sets us apart.
Right next door is our main plant. We have people of over 70 nationalities working at that site alone. In March, I attended the employee meeting. It reminded me that our associates really know what they are doing. We are currently refurbishing our oldest plant, located right in the heart of the city, and transforming it into a cutting-edge location for e-mobility. An area the size of nine football pitches will be remodelled in the coming years - while maintaining production at full tilt. That doubles the burden on our team. It is like performing open heart surgery - but everyone is on board.
It was therefore also important to me personally to be able to announce the highest-possible profit-sharing bonus. Not just in Munich: Employees at all our German locations will receive this benefit for 2022 because we were successful together!
On the weekend of 8 to 9 July, we will be opening the doors of our Munich facilities: the plant, BMW Welt and BMW Museum, as we catch up on the anniversary events we weren't able to hold under coronavirus restrictions. You'll remember that our main plant had its centenary in 2022 and the BMW Group Headquarters also turned 50. Now, we are inviting everyone at our Munich location to join us with their family and friends. The Board of Management is also looking forward to this event.
Our home base is representative of our network. We all live the BMW culture, with its strong values of responsibility, appreciation, openness, transparency and trust.
That is why my first thank you today goes out to our global team. Personally, and on behalf of the Board of Management, I have to tell you that what you all accomplish every day is incredible!
Our values are also reflected in how we engage with our partners. Last year, we faced disruptions to key supply chains, like semiconductors. Once again, our sound supplier relationships proved they were up to the task. So, my second thank you is for our suppliers! We are all in the same boat: If the BMW Group is strong and successful, so, too, are its suppliers and vice versa.
Dear Shareholders,
Last year, I introduced you to our North Star - our source of identity and direction that also defines why we exist as a company. We move body, heart and mind. Being mobile and the joy we feel when doing so - that must also be rationally based. In other words, go hand in hand with reason and responsibility. That is why we have assigned the mind as a third component to our North Star.
This pledge is our promise to customers - and to society, which expects us to make an effective contribution, to have an impact. That is why we are confidently continuing on our path forward as a company.
I'd like to talk about five aspects regarding how we are doing this:
Your company is becoming even more resilient in the face of complex challenges.
Your company charts its own course.
Your company maintains a good balance between the
different regions of the world.
Your company is becoming entirely digital.
Your company is already taking the next leap in innovation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Every journey into the future starts with a status quo.
That is why I'd like to talk first about our starting position:
the financial year 2022 and our goals for 2023.
In the past year, we grew in three different ways: with e-mobility, in our financial results and through the complex challenges we faced. Looking back, 2022 could broadly be described as a year in task-force mode. Our environment was dominated by unexpected events and profound challenges - each with the potential to jeopardise our goals: supply challenges for semiconductors and wiring harnesses; bottlenecks in vehicle and parts logistics; pandemic-related closures in China; rising prices for commodities, materials and energy, as well as geopolitical tensions.
As so often in our history, we drew on our inner strength, learning from crises and emerging from them stronger than ever. We proved once again that we can handle...
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