Investor Relations.

Projected order volume totals 540 million euros +++ Raw material extracted sustainably at mines in Australia

Munich. As part of its electromobility expansion, the BMW Group is deepening its existing business relationship with Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd. based in Jiangxi (China). The two companies have signed a supply contract for the lithium needed as a key raw material for battery cells. “The projected order volume totals 540 million euros. In this way, the BMW Group is securing 100% of its lithium hydroxide needs for fifth-generation battery cells in its high-voltage batteries,” said Dr. Andreas Wendt, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Purchasing and Supplier Network.
The contract is for a term of five years (2020 – 2024). 

“Alongside cobalt, lithium is one of the key raw materials for electromobility. With the signing of this contract, we are securing our lithium needs for battery cells,” continued Wendt. “We aim to have 25 electrified models in our line-up by 2023 – and more than half will be fully electric. Our need for raw materials will continue to grow accordingly. By 2025, for lithium alone, we expect to need about seven times the amount we do today.”

Sustainability and security of supply are important factors in the expansion of electromobility. For the BMW Group’s purchasing experts, ethically responsible raw material extraction and processing begins right at the start of the value chain: They are intensively involved throughout our battery cell supply chains – all the way down to the mines themselves. Compliance with environmental standards and respect for human rights have absolute priority. “Sustainability is an important aspect of our corporate strategy and plays a central role in expanding electromobility. We are fully aware of our responsibilities: Lithium and other raw materials must be extracted and processed under ethically responsible conditions,” underlined Wendt. Ganfeng extracts lithium by mining so-called hard-rock deposits in Australia under the strictest sustainability standards. 

BMW brand sales up 2.9% to 194,690 vehicles +++ Significant growth of the BMW brand in the US and China +++ BMW 3 Series Sedan and Touring post substantial sales increase +++ X models driving growth since start of 2019, up +23.1% +++ Nota: “Sales of electrified vehicles climb 18.4% to reach new all-time high”  

Munich. BMW Group sales continued their positive trend in November: Worldwide deliveries increased by 1.4% over the same month last year to 225,662 units. Deliveries in the year to the end of November were up 1.7% year-on-year, with a total of 2,296,174 premium BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles sold.  

“After renewed growth in November, we continue to approach a new record for the full year as planned,” said Pieter Nota, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Customer, Brands and Sales. “Our electrified vehicles also performed particularly well in November, with sales increasing by 18.4% to reach a new all-time sales high. Last month, one in five BMW 5 Series Sedans was a plug-in hybrid,” Nota continued. 

Total sales of BMW brand vehicles grew by 2.9% in November to 194,690 units. In the year to date, BMW brand sales increased by 2.4% to 1,972,394. Alongside the successful luxury segment, the new and revised BMW X vehicles, in particular, also contributed to the brand’s growth, with sales rising 23.1% to 870,267 vehicles in the year to the end of November. The popular BMW 3 Series Sedan (+33.7%) and Touring (+21.6%) also posted high double-digit growth in November.

Official inauguration of new joint venture "Spotlight Automotive Limited” +++ Important step in MINI’s electrification strategy +++ New plant with standard capacity of 160,000 units +++ Partners invest together approximately 650 million Euro +++ Innovative joint venture model with joint development and production +++ Win-win: Strengths of both partners complement each other

Zhangjiagang/Munich. The BMW Group and Great Wall Motor are driving e‑mobility forward by building a joint plant in China, where the BMW Group will produce future fully-electric models of its MINI brand. High-level representatives of the local Chinese government, Great Wall Motor and the BMW Group today announced the launch of the new joint venture, Spotlight Automotive Limited. The plant will have a standard capacity of up to 160,000 vehicles per year, which will require around 3,000 employees after the ramp-up phase. Both partners will together invest around 650 million Euro (more than five billion CNY). The construction phase is planned for 2020 to 2022.

The event took place in the city of Zhangjiagang in China’s Jiangsu Province, the location of the new automotive plant. Today’s official inauguration marks the next milestone in the relationship between Great Wall Motor and the BMW Group. In summer 2018, the 50:50 joint venture agreement was signed in Berlin in the presence of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

As well as production, the innovative joint venture model also includes joint development of battery-electric vehicles in the world’s largest market for electromobility. The joint venture envisages production of future electric MINI vehicles, as well as several models and brands for Great Wall Motor. Following the launch of the brand-new first-generation fully-electric MINI*, which will be built at Oxford and come to market in the first quarter of 2020, this is another important step towards the MINI brand’s electrified future. MINI Plant Oxford, which recently built the 10 millionth car since the brand’s launch in 1959, will remain the heart and home of MINI manufacturing, while the Spotlight Automotive joint venture will provide additional capacity and flexibility.