At BMW's annual press conference, the group announced impressive figures on Wednesday. Last year, BMW sold 2.4 million cars and achieved a record profit of 23.5 billion euros before tax.

Employees are also getting a share of that. Skilled workers in pay group 5 receive 9,000 euros in profit sharing plus dividends for retirement provision, said HR manager Ilka Horstmeier. BMW already paid this amount last year, when it was said to be a record bonus, reports Fenix magazin.

BMW employees were only recently able to enjoy an additional payment. Along with their January salary, they received an inflation bonus of 1,500 euros – tax-free. And at the beginning of 2024, another 1,500 euros in inflation compensation should arrive.

For 2023, BMW expects a slight increase in sales figures and continued high prices for new cars, but significantly lower profit. A good 7.7 billion euros in profit from 2022 went to the account of the revaluation of the stake in the Chinese joint venture BBA after taking over the majority. This year, however, the purchase price burdened the business result by 1.4 billion euros. Finance director Nicolas Peter also calculates additional costs of more than half a billion euros for materials and raw materials.

But things are going well in the core business: the supply of semiconductors is improving, production is running, and the order books are full. Demand is weaker in Europe, but stable in the USA, and “in China we expect a certain recovery from the second quarter,” said the chief financial officer.

Sales in the particularly profitable upper class and luxury segment are expected to increase by half. The car division is expected to achieve a profit margin of 8 to 10 percent of sales before taxes and interest, after 8.6 percent last year.

Business with e-cars should also bring growth. This year, 15 percent of cars sold will be fully electric.

“One fifth in 2024, one quarter in 2025, one third in 2026,” said CEO Oliver Zipse. The introduction of a new class platform geared toward e-cars with much more powerful and cheaper batteries in two years will provide a major boost.

Source: N1