Latest news with #Zipse
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
BMW CEO tells how the company was right on 'Tesla trend', unlike Mercedes, Volkswagen, and Volvo
BMW CEO Oliver Zipse declared victory over rivals in the electric vehicle market strategy , claiming his company's cautious approach has been validated as competitors scale back ambitious EV targets. "We took a clear stand on this, even in the face of strong headwinds. Now the wind has shifted in our direction," Zipse told shareholders on Wednesday. While competitors like Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Volvo made aggressive commitments to all-electric lineups five years ago, BMW maintained its strategy of offering multiple drivetrain options including combustion engines, hybrids, and electric vehicles. "E-mobility as the sole technology leads to a dead end. That should be obvious by now," Zipse stated, doubling down on BMW's technological flexibility. Legacy automakers have struggled with EV adoption Traditional automakers have faced challenges convincing their established customer base to embrace electric vehicles. Companies including Mercedes and Volvo have recently walked back their earlier EV sales targets as market growth proves slower than anticipated. Even Tesla, the industry's EV pioneer, hasn't been immune to the slowdown. The company experienced its first annual sales decline since the Model Y launch and continued struggling through the first quarter of this year. BMW says it stays flexible while expanding EV offerings Despite advocating for technology openness, BMW isn't avoiding the EV market. The company reported 14% growth in electric vehicle sales last year, with over 426,500 vehicles sold across its BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce brands. "Technology openness means following the markets, because markets evolve, but not all at the same pace," Zipse explained. BMW is also preparing to launch the iX3 mid-size electric crossover by year-end, built on its new dedicated EV platform called "Neue Klasse." The company further plans to introduce hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicles in 2028, maintaining its multi-technology approach in an increasingly uncertain automotive landscape. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Time of India
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
BMW expects car tariffs to fall from July in upbeat take on trade war
BMW expects US car tariffs to decline from July, based on its contacts with US officials, a more upbeat assessment of the trade situation than many rivals and leading the German luxury automaker to confirm its 2025 outlook. The company warned, however, that tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump would have a "notable" impact on its second-quarter results. Executives declined to estimate that hit during a call with analysts on Wednesday. BMW's biggest plant is in the United States and it is the country's top auto exporter by value. The company said it was engaged in multi-level talks with US policymakers and that its arguments for easing tariffs were being acknowledged. "We are noticing that things are moving, developing and being negotiated everywhere," finance chief Walter Mertl said. "Accordingly, our reading, based on all the networks that we have at our disposal, is that we assume that something will change in July." CEO Oliver Zipse said BMW's operations in South Carolina, home to its Spartanburg plant, supported around 43,000 direct and indirect jobs and made an economic contribution of more than $26 billion a year. "Knowing that we are the largest exporter, we are convinced that this will play a role in some appropriate form in the negotiations in the coming weeks," Zipse said. "We can already see that this will not be ignored, our large footprint," he said, declining to elaborate. Zipse said BMW was deeply rooted in the US market and was talking to all stakeholders to make its point. Temporary tariffs? Many of BMW's rivals, including Mercedes-Benz, Ford and Stellantis, have pulled their 2025 forecasts, blaming the uncertainty caused by US trade policy. BMW said its 2025 outlook, which was provided in March and factored in all tariffs announced up to that point, still stood. It has forecast earnings before tax on a par with 2024 and an operating margin at its automotive business of 5-7%. The company said that while it could only estimate the potential impact of tariffs, it expected "some of the tariff increases to be temporary, with reductions from July 2025". BMW shares were 1.3% higher at 1011 GMT, after the company reported first-quarter earnings before interest and tax of 2.02 billion euros ($2.3 billion) at its auto unit, beating analysts' average forecast of 1.85 billion euros in an LSEG poll. Helped by strong orders and cost discipline, the unit's operating margin reached 6.9%, down from the 8.8% in the same period of last year, but beating the 6.3% forecast in the poll. "In an environment where its peers have been withdrawing guidance left, right and centre, BMW's decision to stick with guidance was well-received by the market," Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said in a note. "Part of this is predicated on some tariffs going into reverse from July onwards - so investors will be able to judge from the summer whether or not the current forecasts remain credible." BMW included the caveat that its business performance in 2025 may deviate if tariffs increase or remain in place for longer than anticipated, and flagged the risk of potential supply bottlenecks for specific parts or raw materials.
Business Mayor
07-05-2025
- Automotive
- Business Mayor
BMW boss predicts Trump's 25% tariffs on foreign cars will be lowered by July
The boss of BMW has predicted that Donald Trump's import tariffs on foreign cars will be lowered this summer, as the German carmaker reportedprofits for the first quarter had tumbled by a quarter. Oliver Zipse, BMW's chief executive, said he expected that Trump's 25% tariffs on the import of foreign cars would be dropped by July. He made the prediction after the company reported a drop in profit to €3.1bn (£2.6bn) as it braced for the effects of Trump's trade war and strong competition in China. Zipse also said he expected a return to lower tariffs between the US, Canada and Mexico – previously a free-trade zone under a deal he signed – because the 'costs are far too big for everybody'. 'In trade conflicts, nobody wins. All sides should avoid a spiral of isolation and trade barriers,' Zipse said, calling for 'zero-zero' tariffs deals amid 'challenging' trading conditions for car manufacturers. In March, the carmaker said tariffs imposed by the US, EU and China could cost it €1bn this year. EU tariffs on Chinese electric car imports in response to alleged state aid from Beijing cost BMW more than €100m in the first quarter of 2025, it said on Wednesday. Trump's 90-day 'pause' on tariffs above a flat rate of 10% on most countries is due to end in early July, with the threat of a return to much higher levies, alongside the 145% duties still in force on China. However, the US is rushing through a series of what it describes as trade deals with major trading partners that could lower tariffs. BMW insisted it was nevertheless well-placed to endure extra tariff costs, with separate factories in the US and China. Zipse said BMW has experienced 'hardly any effect' from the steep US tariffs on China and China's retaliation. Zipse said its factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina, made BMW the largest automotive exporter from the US by value. He added that the company's arguments against tariffs were being listened to. BMW also owns the Mini factory in Oxford, England, where the company last month cut 180 contract workers in response to lower demand for vehicles. Despite the first-quarter earnings slump, BMW stuck with its guidance for profits for the year in line with 2024. It expects the global tariff situation to improve as countries scramble to secure trade deals with the US, and insisted BMW was experiencing continued strong demand for its battery electric vehicles, with sales up 32% year-on-year, despite stiff competition in China. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion In the first months of the year, BMW's sales in China, the Munich-based manufacturer's biggest individual market, fell by 17% even as sales in Europe and the US rose by 6% and 4%, respectively. Stiff competition in Asia's car market is expected to intensify after the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn announced on Wednesday it had reached a deal to build electric cars in Taiwan for Japan's Mitsubishi Motors. The deal will add yet another well-funded EV competitor in Asia.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
BMW boss predicts Trump's 25% tariffs on foreign cars will be lowered by July
BMW CEO Oliver Zipse also said he expected a return to lower tariffs between the US, Canada and Mexico because the 'costs are far too big for everybody'. Photograph: Héctor Retamal/AFP/Getty Images The boss of BMW has predicted that Donald Trump's tariffs on imports of foreign cars will be lowered this summer, as the German carmaker reported that its profits for the first quarter tumbled by 25%. Oliver Zipse, BMW's chief executive, said that he expects Trump's 25% tariffs on the import of foreign cars will be dropped by July. He made the prediction after the German carmaker reported a 25% drop in profit for the first quarter of the year to €3.1bn (£2.6bn) as it braced for the effects of Donald Trump's trade war and strong competition in China. Zipse also said he expected a return to lower tariffs between the US, Canada and Mexico – previously a free-trade zone under a deal he signed – because the 'costs are far too big for everybody'. 'In trade conflicts, nobody wins. All sides should avoid a spiral of isolation and trade barriers,' Zipse said. He called for 'zero-zero' tariffs deals amid 'challenging' trading conditions for car manufacturers. In March, the carmaker said that tariffs imposed by the US, EU and China could cost it €1bn this year. EU tariffs on Chinese electric car imports in response to alleged state aid from Beijing cost BMW more than €100m in the first quarter of 2025, it said on Wednesday. Trump's 90-day 'pause' on tariffs above a flat rate of 10% on most countries is due to end in early July, with the threat of a return to much higher levies, alongside the 145% duties still in force on China. However, the US is rushing through a series of what it describes as trade deals with major trading partners which could lower tariffs. BMW insisted that it is nevertheless well placed to endure extra tariff costs, with separate factories in the US and China. Zipse said BMW has experienced 'hardly any effect' from the steep US tariffs on China and China's retaliation. Zipse said that its factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina, makes BMW the largest automotive exporter from the US by value. He added that the company's arguments against tariffs were being listened to. BMW also owns the Mini factory in Oxford, where the company last month cut 180 contract workers in response to lower demand. Despite the first quarter earnings slump, BMW stuck with its guidance for profits for the year in line with 2024. It said that it expected an improvement in the global tariff situation as countries scramble to secure trade deals with the US, and insisted that it was experiencing continued strong demand for its battery electric vehicles, with sales up 32% year-on-year, despite stiff competition in China. In the first months of the year, BMW's sales in China, the Munich-based manufacturer's biggest individual market, fell 17% during the period even as sales in Europe and the US rose by 6% and 4% respectively.
The Sun
07-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
BMW upbeat on riding out US tariff chaos
FRANKFURT: German premium carmaker BMW said Wednesday that it expected to largely ride out the impact of US tariffs over the coming year, and that it hoped to soften their impact. CEO Oliver Zipse told reporters on a call that BMW was lobbying hard for free trade and expected some success thanks to its worldwide footprint. 'We are advocating this at various political levels in our markets,' he said. 'People listen to us attentively and our arguments are well received.' Zipse added that he expected tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on Canada and Mexico to eventually be rolled back. 'We assume that the North American free trade zone will be restored because these countries are far too interdependent,' he said. 'The costs for everyone are far too large.' Trump has threatened and imposed a range of tariffs in a bid to boost American manufacturing, including a 25 percent levy on many car imports in effect since April. But he has also proven flexible, pausing previously-announced punitive tariffs and adding some carveouts to the car duties. BMW has its largest site in South Carolina in the United States and the plant last year exported vehicles worth over $10 billion (8.8 billion euros). The company stuck with its guidance for the year and expects earnings before taxes (EBT) for 2025 to be level with that of 2024, driven by demand for its pricier motors. In a statement, BMW said it expects 'some of the tariff increases to be temporary, with reductions from July 2025.' BMW's guidance only takes into account tariffs in effect up to March 12. About half of its US sales are imports from Europe, Mexico and South Africa. For the first quarter, BMW reported net profit of 2.17 billion euros and earnings before taxes of 3.11 billion euros. EBT beat expectations of 2.85 billion euros forecast in a company poll of analysts. Those figures nevertheless fell by about 25 percent on the previous year, with BMW struggling in key market China in the face of local rivals such as BYD. BMW also took a hit in the 'low three-digit million euro range' in the first quarter as a result of tariffs imposed on Chinese electric vehicles by the EU in October, it said. The company makes electric cars under its Mini brand in the country. The company's shares were up 3.5 percent in Frankfurt after the results were released.
