2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 15:44
BMW is delighting shareholders with a record dividend and employees with a record bonus. The Munich leaders want to stay at the top in the future and are pushing ahead with the restructuring of the classic car business with power - also for the post-oil era.
Full order books, special shifts and record numbers: BMW wants to take advantage of the car boom and expand its top position in the luxury class in the coming years. In order to keep the rivals Audi and Daimler at a distance, the Munich-based company is also pushing ahead with the conversion of the classic car business. In view of strict CO2 limits, traffic restrictions and rising raw material costs, the industry is facing enormous challenges, said CEO Norbert Reithofer on Thursday at the general meeting in Munich.
5840 euros premium
"It's about nothing less than: leading individual mobility into a new era," said Reithofer. In addition to the expansion of electromobility, the use of new materials and offers such as car sharing, this also includes the development of concepts for car-related services. The industry must prepare for the post-oil era. «The transition to the post-fossil society will come. It comes faster than many think, »said Reithofer. BMW wants to bring the first electric car onto the market in 2013.
At the moment, the group is earning money mainly from the large and expensive sedans. Thanks to the unbroken high demand in China, the USA and also in Europe, the manufacturer is setting new records after the two dreary years of crisis in 2008 and 2009 and is working on the verge of capacity. That is why BMW pays employees a record bonus again after two years without profit sharing. For 2010 the collective bargaining employees will receive almost 1.6 monthly salaries - an average of 5840 euros. In addition, BMW plans to hire around 2000 new employees this year, more than half of them in Germany.
365 million euros for the Quandt family
The group had already rewarded its employees with a one-time special payment in the middle of last year. Like other manufacturers, BMW was extremely successful in 2010. "For the employees that meant: additional shifts - many additional shifts and intensive project work," said Reithofer. The group had the best start to the year ever in the first three months.
The shareholders can also look forward to a windfall in view of the global auto boom: BMW plans to distribute a dividend of 1.30 euros per common share, one euro more than in 2009. The Quandt family alone, who together hold 46.7 percent of the common shares, will receive it around 365 million euros shared by Susanne Klatten, Johanna Quandt and Stefan Quandt. (dpa)
