In the luxury car market, the "three-legged" market structure built by the traditional top three-Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi (hereinafter referred to as "BBA") has been unbreakable for several years, and second-tier luxury brands have tried their best to challenge the top three, but most of them ended in failure.
In the luxury car market in 2022, "BBA" will still play the leading role. However, in the face of huge uncertainties in the global and China auto markets, "BBA" performs better? How does China perform as the world's largest single market for the three companies? Facing the general trend of new energy transformation, how does BBA lay out the moat in the future and consolidate its position in the luxury car market?
Sales performance is quite satisfactory, and revenue profit is extremely strong.
In 2022, the sales performance of "BBA" was different, and the sales of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and light commercial vehicles all ushered in positive growth. Among them, the total sales of passenger cars increased by 5% year-on-year, reaching 20407 19; Sales of light commercial vehicles increased by 8% year-on-year to 465,438+05,344 vehicles.
The sales of BMW and Audi are in line with the trend of the whole industry. In 2022, the sales volume of BMW Group decreased by 4.8% year-on-year to 2,399,632 vehicles, among which the BMW brand decreased by 5. 1% year-on-year to 2,000,689 vehicles. Audi Group decreased by about 3% to 65,438+0,638,638 vehicles, of which Audi brand decreased by about 4% to 65,438+0,665,438+04,2365,438+0 vehicles.
From the overall delivery situation, Mercedes-Benz will be better in 2022, but when it comes to pure electric vehicles that are most valued in the market at present, the performance of the three car companies is remarkable.
Sales of Mercedes-Benz pure electric passenger cars increased by 67% year-on-year, reaching 65,438+049,227, accounting for about 7% of the total sales of passenger cars;
In 2022, the sales volume of pure electric vehicles of BMW Group exceeded 265,438+00,000, up 65,438+007.7% year-on-year, accounting for 9% of the Group's total global sales.
Audi Group's delivery of pure electric vehicles has once again achieved substantial growth, reaching 1 18 and 196 vehicles, an increase of about 44%, and its sales share has increased from 4.8% of 202 1 to 7.2%.
In terms of sales volume, the performance of "BBA" is basically consistent with the trend of the whole industry, basically stabilizing the market without a sharp decline, which also laid a solid foundation for good performance.
Compared with satisfactory sales performance, the revenue and profit performance of "BBA" in 2022 need to be described as strong.
In 2022, by further focusing on luxury passenger cars and light commercial vehicles and strict cost measures, EBIT increased by 28% to 20.5 billion euros, while its operating income increased by 65,438+02% to 65,438+05 billion euros.
BMW Group achieved a record profit performance, with pre-tax profit increasing by 46.4% year-on-year to 23.5 billion euros and operating income increasing by 28% year-on-year to 65.438+0426 billion euros.
Audi Group's revenue and profit also hit a record high. In 2022, the operating income increased by 16.4% year-on-year, reaching 61800 million euros, and the profit before tax increased by 3 1%, reaching 9 1 100 million euros.
Although the sales performance is not satisfactory due to many challenges, the three luxury car manufacturers have achieved new breakthroughs in a number of business indicators. According to Owl Chezhi, the macro-economy and global situation can't be controlled, and the three car companies can still ensure that the company is always moving in the right direction through continuous and effective crisis management and strict profit and cost management. This is the foundation and strength that mature car companies should show in the face of rapid market changes.
China market strives for progress steadily.
For BBA, China is the largest single market in the world, and its market performance has a great influence on the whole group. Affected by many objective factors, in 2022, the sales of the three car companies in China market all declined to varying degrees.
In 2022, Mercedes-Benz delivered a total of 7,565,438+0.7 million new cars in the China market, a slight decrease of 0.9% year-on-year, and the annual delivery of new energy vehicles (including pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles) increased by 65,438+0.43 year-on-year; In 2022, BMW Group delivered 793,500 vehicles in the China market, down 6.4% year-on-year, but the sales volume of pure electric vehicles was about 42,000, up about 965,438+0.6% year-on-year; The cumulative sales volume of Audi brand in China in 2022 was about 643,000 vehicles, down more than 9% year-on-year.
Although China's market delivery has declined to varying degrees, its revenue and profit performance are still eye-catching.
Mercedes-Benz Group's revenue in China market was 27.324 billion euros, up 9% year-on-year. Among them, Beijing Benz earned 24.82 billion euros, up 65,438+06.59% year-on-year; After-tax profit from continuing operations was 3.649 billion yuan, up 65.438+03.85% year-on-year. The total comprehensive income was Euro3,705,438+0 billion, up by 65,438+06,438+0% year-on-year.
China market is regarded by BMW Group as one of the reasons for its rapid profit growth. Last year, BMW acquired a majority stake in BMW Brilliance, a joint venture in China, which contributed 7.7 billion euros in special income to the revaluation of its previously held shares in BMW Brilliance, accounting for about one third of the pre-tax profit of 23.5 billion euros.
Nicolas Peter, the outgoing CFO, said: "The integration of the China joint venture in the automotive field has raised the business of the BMW Group to a new level, which will greatly help us in 2022."
For Audi, despite the decline in sales in China, it still accounts for nearly 40% of global sales. Its financial income in China increased slightly by 1. 14% year-on-year, reaching1153 million euros, which contributed significantly to the Group's performance. Therefore, the China market can't afford to lose.
However, the decline in sales is obviously an indisputable fact. In particular, SAIC Audi, a joint venture brand established in 202 1, has not yet shown mature market competitiveness, and only contributed 6,280 vehicles last year, which is an urgent problem for Audi.
At present, the wave of new energy in China auto market is rolling. Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi all have a sense of crisis of "transformation" and have started to increase their prices on electrification.
Mercedes-Benz has made it clear that in 2023, it will launch six brand-new pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles into the China market, forming a 17 new energy product matrix covering all major market segments of new generation luxury, core luxury and high-end luxury, and meeting the growing demand of China customers for sustainable luxury travel with the most abundant luxury new energy product lineup in China market.
In addition, Mercedes-Benz will continue to create a convenient and worry-free luxury electric travel experience based on customers' actual usage scenarios. The exclusive comprehensive service products for pure electric vehicles will come out in 2023, and at the same time, the charging service will be continuously enriched, and it is also planned to build its own high-power charging network.
At the annual financial report meeting in 2023, BMW Group revealed the product planning of a new generation of cars for the first time: it will start to produce a new generation of cars in the second half of 2025, and at least six new generation cars will be mass-produced in the next 24 months. Before the arrival of the "new generation", BMW will launch pure electric BMW i5, pure electric BMW iX2 and pure electric BMW i5 station wagon. Together with the existing pure electric vehicles, BMW's pure electric products will cover all major market segments.
Regarding the China market, Chairman Qi Puce of BMW Group said: "We will continue to expand our investment in China. This year, we will launch five new energy vehicles in China market, including the pure electric 3 Series produced in Shenyang production base and the world premiere of the pure electric 7 Series in China. During the year, 15 pure electric vehicles will be mass-produced and trial-produced worldwide. In 2025, we will raise the BMW electric car to a new height through the' new generation' model. "
Before the release of Audi Group's annual financial report, duesman visited China for the first time as CEO of Audi. He expressed great satisfaction with Audi's sales performance in China, and he was full of confidence in Audi's future development in China: "China has great market potential, and it will be one of Audi's most important markets now and in the future. We will actively invest in China business. With the domestic PPE factory put into production at the end of 2024, Audi is confident that it will achieve the same success as the fuel vehicle era through electrified models. "
Du Siman revealed that in the second half of this year, the Audi Q6 e-tron based on the new luxury pure electric platform PPE will be unveiled in the world; In 2024, Audi Q6 e-tron will take the lead in importing into China, and realize localized production in Changchun Audi FAW New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. at the end of the year, further enhancing Audi's position in the electric vehicle market in China.
On the operational level, Dr. Wen Zeyue, President of Audi China, said that by the end of this year, Audi will deploy more than 600 Audi-specific charging piles nationwide, and will continue to expand its charging network and build a high-end ecosystem in the future.
On the basis of stabilizing the "basic market" in 2022, "BBA" will still adopt the strategy of striving for progress while maintaining stability in the China market, and will not be rash and radical. Looking at the market development trend in the past two years, traditional car companies have always maintained a cautious attitude in the transformation. After all, traditional car companies can't "go into battle lightly" like the new forces, and they need to make incremental changes in the new energy market on the basis of ensuring their original market position.
Looking forward to 2023? The forecast remains cautiously optimistic.
Mercedes-Benz believes that the prospect of 2023 is more complicated. Although the global semiconductor supply shortage has eased, some problems continue to lead to limited supply. It is predicted that the total sales volume of passenger cars will remain at last year's level in 2023, the overall sales volume of high-end luxury cars is expected to be slightly higher than last year, the sales volume of pure electric vehicles is expected to roughly double, and the total sales volume of young commercial vehicles in 2023 is expected to be the same as last year. It is estimated that the Group's turnover in 2023 will remain at last year's level, and its earnings before interest and tax are expected to be slightly lower than last year.
Compared with Mercedes-Benz, BMW Group's forecast is more cautious. It is predicted that the sales of automobiles will increase slightly, the sales of pure electric vehicles will increase substantially, the profit before tax will drop sharply, the profit rate before interest and tax will be between 8%- 10%, and the number of employees in the group will increase substantially, especially the number of female employees in management positions.
Audi Group predicts that it will continue to maintain a positive trend in fiscal year 2023: it is expected to deliver 6.5438+0.8 million vehicles to 6.5438+0.9 million vehicles; Sales revenue will create a new record of 69 billion to 72 billion euros; Considering that the automobile price is still at a high level, it is estimated that the operating and sales profit rate is between 9%- 1 1%; The net cash flow will be between 4.5 billion and 5.5 billion euros, continuing the strong financial performance of Audi Group in fiscal year 2022.
This article comes from the author Owl Che Zhi, and the copyright belongs to the author. Please contact the author if reproduced in any form. The content only represents the author's point of view and has nothing to do with the car reform.