BMW: How supply chain issues and China lockdowns have impacted its bottom line
BMW’s sales have slumped in 2022 due to supply chain issues and the now-scrapped zero-Covid policy in China.
A byproduct of the pandemic, supply chain issues such as chip shortages and higher raw material costs were magnified by Beijing’s decision to implement severe lockdown measures for the good part of last year.
The German automotive giant – which owns the likes of Mini and Rolls-Royce – delivered 2.4 million cars over the past 12 months, 4.8 per cent down on 2021 levels.
Similarly, sales for the BMW brand went down 5.1 per cent to 2.1 million units.
Sales were particularly affected in the first six months of the year, picking up pace in the second half.
Over the last quarter, the group reported a 10.6 per cent increase in sales, as more than 650,000 cars were delivered to customers.
Despite the impact of Covid in China – as well as the war in Ukraine – BMW has remained optimistic.
“Our strong product line-up is the best response to a challenging environment – and enabled us to more than double our sales of fully-electric vehicles again in 2022,” said BMW board member Pieter Nota.
The car maker sold 215,755 fully-electric cars over the past year, a 107.7 per cent increase on 2021 levels.
“We are confident we can build on this success in 2023, as we continue to see particularly high order intake for our fully-electric models,” added Nota.
According to the board member, BMW aims for 15 per cent of its total 2023 sales to come from fully-electric vehicles, such as the Mini.