©Reuters. A BMW Vision Neue Klasse is displayed next to the company logo during an event one day before the official opening of the IAA Mobility Munich 2023 Auto Show, in Munich, Germany, September 4, 2023. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/file photo
(Reuters) -BMW sees its 2024 automotive margin in line with last year, as the German premium carmaker expects research and development (R&D) costs and capital expenditures to peak this year, we read in Thursday’s annual report.
“We are investing in the future of our company like never before,” said Chief Financial Officer Walter Mertl.
BMW (ETR:) expects deliveries of fully electric vehicles to increase significantly in 2024, while they had already increased by 74% last year, thus reaching 15% of sales.
The company expects overall deliveries of key brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce (OTC:) to be slightly higher than the previous year.
The company expects earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) margin in its main automotive division to be between 8% and 10% this year, up from 9.8% reported in 2023.
This comes after the Munich-based group’s 2023 margins fell short of expectations on rising costs and it had to cut dividends as consolidation of its Chinese joint venture weighed on profits.
Normalization of used car demand will also weigh on earnings as a lower return on remarketing leasing is expected, the group added.