Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) Group, 2013

Headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, BMW Group is a world famous German automobile-, motorcycle-, and engine-manufacturing company. In June 2012, BMW was listed in Forbes magazine as the number-one most reputable company in the world. Rankings were based on aspects such as “people’s willingness to buy, recommend, work for, and invest in a company.” The rankings were based 60 percent on public perceptions of the company and 40 on public perceptions of their products.

BMW owns and produces the Mini marque and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under the Motorrad and Husqvarna brands led by the K 1200 GT, R 1200 RT, and F 800 S models. BMW Group operates 29 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global dealer network in more than 140 countries. BMW’s premium lineup includes sedans, coupés, convertibles, and sport wagons in the 1, 3, 5, 6, and 7 Series, as well as the M3 coupe and convertible, the X5 sport active, and the Z4 roadster. BMW has a profitable financial services segment that provides purchase financing and leasing, asset management, dealer financing, and corporate fleets. About 3,000 dealers worldwide sell BMWs.

In calendar year 2012, BMW Group sold 1.85 million cars and nearly 117,000 motorcycles worldwide, the highest annual total ever for the company and an increase of 10.6 percent over the previous record year in 2011. BMW sales in the month of January 2013 were the highest ever in a January for the company; sales grew 11.5 percent to 107,276 units and it was the first time that more than 100,000 BMW vehicles were delivered worldwide to customers in that month.

In early 2013, BMW Group and Toyota Motor Corporation extended their long-term collaboration agreement for the joint development of a fuel-cell system, joint development of architecture and components for a sports vehicle, joint research and development of lightweight technologies, and collaborative research on lithium-air batteries with a post-lithium-battery solution. BMW Group had a workforce of approximately 105,000 employees.

BMW Group reported the best-ever May 2013 sales with 166,397 BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce automobiles delivered to customers worldwide, up 5.8 percent from the previous May. BMW Motorrad also had a successful May 2013 with sales up 14.2 percent to 13,081 vehicles delivered. However, in August 2013, BMW customers around the world were complaining intensely about not being able to obtain spare parts for their BMW. The world’s biggest maker of luxury cars, BMW has struggled from June to September 2013 to ship components on time because of a new supply-management system being introduced in its central warehouse in Germany. BMW’s 40 parts-distribution centers originate at the main warehouse in Dingolfing that also directly supplies about 300 repair shops in Germany. Raimund Nestler—who lives in Ingolstadt, Germany, the home base of rival Audi AG (NSU)—has been waiting six weeks for a new part that controls engine speed. “I have always been a die-hard BMW driver and am currently driving my seventh BMW, but will consider which brand I’ll buy the next time,” he said by phone. “For a premium carmaker like BMW, this is particularly disappointing.” BMW’s stock has declined 2.5 percent in 2013 through August, valuing the company at 45.7 billion euros ($61 billion).