BMW 2008 Annual Report Download - page 23

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14 Group Management Report
14 A Review of the Financial Year
16 General Economic Environment
20 Review of Operations
42 BMW Stock and Bonds
45 Disclosures pursuant to § 289 (4)
and § 315 (4) HGB
47 Financial Analysis
47 Internal Management System
49 Earnings Performance
51 Financial Position
52 Net Assets Position
55 Subsequent Events Report
55 Value Added Statement
57 Key Performance Figures
58 Comments on BMW AG
62 Risk Management
68 Outlook
Highly adaptable production network
As a result of the reduction in global car sales volumes, the
BMW Group’s production network manufactured fewer
vehicles than originally planned in . Even though a very
large proportion of cars under production are subject to
specific customer orders, production volume has been
adapted even more stringently to market demand. Further-
more, instruments such as flexible working hours and shift
models made it possible to implement reduced produc-
tion schedules to suit each individual plant. The consistent
value-added approach adopted resulted in further process
optimisation during the year. As a result, the targeted
  to   annual improvement in cost productivity was
achieved once again.
The BMW Group launched a total of seven new models in
its various plants in , two of which were revised models.
Production of the revised BMW 3 Series Sedan and revised
BMW 3 Series Touring commenced at the BMW Munich
plant in . Working closely with the MINI plant in Oxford,
approximately  units of the MINI E were manufactured
in Munich. Since the beginning of , these cars have
been tested in day-to-day use by selected customers in the
USA. The production of the MINI E enabled valuable know-
how in the use of lithium-
ion technology to be gained at the
Munich plant.
In September , the chassis and powertrain component
production unit at the Dingolfing plant received the “Best
Plant in Europe” award for the outstanding quality of its
management system. In January , the five-millionth
BMW 5 Series vehicle (now in its fifth generation) rolled
off the production line at the BMW plant in Dingolfing: it
was a 530d Sedan. Production of the new BMW 7 Series
began successfully in autumn. The high number of tech-
nical innovations in this car placed particularly high de-
mands on the various production units involved.
Each of the production units at the Landshut plant played
its part in the successful production start-ups of the various
new and revised models in . The Interior department
saw the commissioning of a new production line with
inno-
vative injection moulding machines for the manufacture of
cockpits for the new BMW 7 Series. One of the
year’s high-
lights for the Exterior department was the introduction of a
special cleaning plant, for the first time allowing large parts
of the outer body skin area to be cleaned. Thus simplifying
processes and minimising throughput
times. Above all,
the new system also greatly reduces energy costs and
avoids
wastewater entirely.
The introduction of inorganic sand core technology for
series
production underlines the high technological manu-
facturing standards applied in the light alloy foundry. This
production
method – using mineral binders which cause
practically no smell or emissions – has vast benefits both
for employees and for the environment. It also increases
yield while simultaneously reducing maintenance costs
and optimising tool utilisation times. By , the entire
foundry at the Landshut plant will have been converted to
the use of inorganic sand core technology.
At the BMW Regensburg plant, the four-millionth vehicle
to be manufactured since the plant was commissioned in
 rolled off the production line at the end of May .
Key milestones in  included the production start-up
of the new BMW M3 Convertible and that of the revised
BMW 3 Series Sedan. Work on the extension of the press-
ing
plant, which began in , continued according to
schedule in . The BMW Group is investing a total of
euro  million on the extension which will be taken into
operations in autumn . From  onwards, the new
BMW Z4 will be manufactured at the Regensburg plant.
The installation of the necessary equipment, involving
capital expenditure in the region of euro  million, was
begun in .
Four different BMW models are currently being produced
at the BMW plant in Leipzig: the BMW 3 Series Sedan,
the BMW 1 Series three-door version, the Coupé and the
Convertible. At the end of May  a “topping out” cere-
mony was held at the BMW Leipzig plant for the new
pressing plant which is adjoined to a component produc-
tion unit for doors, front hatches and rear hatches. The
BMW Group is investing approximately euro  million in
this extension project which is to be commissioned by the
end of .
With the BMW X6 also now included in its production pro-
gramme, more than , vehicles were produced for the
first time at the Spartanburg plant in the USA in . Work
began in spring on the large-scale extension of the plant
and is scheduled to take several years. The BMW Group is
investing the equivalent of some euro  million in this
project which also includes the construction of a new paint
shop and an additional assembly building. Production of
the BMW Z4 at the Spartanburg plant was discontinued
mid- and its successor will be manufactured at the
BMW plant in Regensburg. In its place, the next generation
of the BMW X3 will be produced in Spartanburg and the
plant will become the main production centre for the
BMW X family.
The first of the revised BMW 3 Series Sedans rolled off the
production line at the BMW plant in Rosslyn, South Africa
in . The proportion of vehicles produced for the export
market at the plant during the reporting year rose further to
stand at   .
At the end of October  a milestone was reached in the
production of engines at the BMW plant in Steyr, Austria: