Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2: BMW is unveiling its new seven Series at Grand Central,
Speaker 2: showcasing its most advanced technology yet. Matt Miller is there
Speaker 2: in person and joins us now with the CEO of
Speaker 2: BMW North America.
Speaker 3: Hey, Matt, Yeah, I'm in my comfortable place here in
Speaker 3: the car world, but also at Grand Central Station, which
Speaker 3: is majestic. Here with Sebastian Mackinson, the head of BMW
Speaker 3: North America. Sebastian, welcome, or maybe I should say thank
Speaker 3: you for welcoming me here. Why choose Grand Central Terminal
Speaker 3: for this? It's a global debut.
Speaker 1: Right right it is.
Speaker 4: I mean, we were looking for the right location to
Speaker 4: show our flagship car, the new seven Series, and we
Speaker 4: didn't want to have any location but Vanderbilt Hall at
Speaker 4: Grand Star Station, such an iconic space in this fantastic city.
Speaker 4: It is unmistakable design, but it also stands the test
Speaker 4: of time, and I think that's a very fitting to
Speaker 4: the seventh series for BMW.
Speaker 3: So I'm test driving currently a previous generation seven Series
Speaker 3: stickered at two hundred grand. What kind of margins are
Speaker 3: you making on these cars?
Speaker 4: You know, that's part of our financial calculations, which is
Speaker 4: not something.
Speaker 1: We talk about in the public space.
Speaker 4: But we develop the cars with a lot of investment
Speaker 4: and with a lot of dedication and professionalism and passion,
Speaker 4: and then we sell them at the right price in
Speaker 4: the market.
Speaker 3: So what's the difference between this new car? What have
Speaker 3: you changed versus the previous generation and what are the
Speaker 3: powertrain choices?
Speaker 4: Yes, so one thing is definitely the external looks. I
Speaker 4: think we have cleaned up the front quite a bit.
Speaker 4: You have one line of front lights. Before there were
Speaker 4: two lines. It has become cleaner and I think it
Speaker 4: makes an unbelievable entrance. So this is not a car
Speaker 4: you sneak in unnoticed. You have a grand entrance when
Speaker 4: you come to this car, and if it's at nighttime.
Speaker 4: With a light design, that's even more. We also have
Speaker 4: replaced chrome. Led is the new chrome in this car.
Speaker 4: You see the kidney light layout. We also have a
Speaker 4: new light design on the back. Now in the interior,
Speaker 4: we have a lot of things which we developed, which
Speaker 4: what we call the Neuer cluster, a lot of those
Speaker 4: digital elements ui UX Interface, customer interface.
Speaker 1: They all make.
Speaker 4: It now into other BMW models and the first one
Speaker 4: where this happens is actually the seventh series. Now you
Speaker 4: talked about drive trains, we will have two options on
Speaker 4: the internal combustion engine, a six cylinder and a V eight.
Speaker 4: We will have two options on the pure electric vehicle,
Speaker 4: both being one hundred percent electric drive train.
Speaker 1: And we have also a.
Speaker 4: Pluck in hybrid vehicle when you want to go half
Speaker 4: the way.
Speaker 1: So what privee electric but also have a gasoline?
Speaker 3: What are your customers choosing? I mean, I imagine for
Speaker 3: a luxury vehicle like this, a lot of people want
Speaker 3: the V eight right. On the other hand, as gas
Speaker 3: prices climb, I would also imagine that more people are
Speaker 3: starting to go back to electric after the backlash and
Speaker 3: the loss of the subsidy that we saw last year.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we see.
Speaker 4: I mean, obviously geography geography of the preferences are a
Speaker 4: bit different in the geography of the United States, but
Speaker 4: in general, we saw last year about a quarter of
Speaker 4: our seven serious customers opting for a fully electric car.
Speaker 4: I happened to drive it that vehicle for one year,
Speaker 4: and I have to say the luxuriousness and the luxury
Speaker 4: driving experience in a seventh series is even enhanced more
Speaker 4: when it is purely electric, no vibrations, You're in your
Speaker 4: own space. It is a great, great thing to experience.
Speaker 4: But obviously we are known I mean Bavarian, Bavarian Motorworks.
Speaker 1: We are Bavarian Motorworks.
Speaker 4: We are known for our engines, and people love our
Speaker 4: V eight engine and that's why we give it the
Speaker 4: customers the choice.
Speaker 1: We call it technology openness.
Speaker 4: You can go this way or that, but one thing
Speaker 4: is sure, it's always the seven series, not the compromise vehicle.
Speaker 3: We hear the same thing from Rolls Royce, which is
Speaker 3: of course a brand that you own as well. People
Speaker 3: that want the ultimate luxury often choose the Specter.
Speaker 1: Now they have the Nightingale.
Speaker 3: You know, if they want to spend three, four or
Speaker 3: five million dollars, how much customization can you do on
Speaker 3: your higher end cars? Because you know, right now the
Speaker 3: name of the game is customization.
Speaker 1: Customer drops two three four.
Speaker 3: Thousand dollars, wants to be able to choose the exact color,
Speaker 3: choose the exact interior, and make different combinations.
Speaker 4: I mean, just to make sure we are starting here,
Speaker 4: just around one hundred thousand dollars. Okay, you don't have
Speaker 4: to go that high, as you just mentioned if you
Speaker 4: want to drive a seven serious but that part of side.
Speaker 4: Just to call out some numbers, you have five hundred
Speaker 4: different possibilities for a vehicle color. You can change a
Speaker 4: lot of interior trims, materials and colors, which mathematically makes
Speaker 4: up to seven hundred combinations. And you can also in
Speaker 4: the BMW individual world, you can come with your own
Speaker 4: wishes and we can mention a color if you have
Speaker 4: like your color, which is obviously then a special service,
Speaker 4: but we can make that color and put it on
Speaker 4: your car.
Speaker 3: Sebastian, I got to pin you down on the electric
Speaker 3: vehicle question because since the war in Iran started, we've
Speaker 3: seen gas prices soar, not just.
Speaker 1: Here but around the world.
Speaker 3: And although EV sales had dropped substantially after the end
Speaker 3: of the tax credit, at least online, I've seen more
Speaker 3: and more people, you know, brag about having gotten an
Speaker 3: EV and having a low, you know, monthly bill. What
Speaker 3: are you seeing in terms of EV sales.
Speaker 4: I would say you see in the online what we
Speaker 4: see in the online, what customers do in the online world.
Speaker 4: We see in a slight uptick in interest.
Speaker 1: On our electric products.
Speaker 4: But for the time being, I wouldn't call it a
Speaker 4: drastic change. So I understand the chatter in the in
Speaker 4: the marketplace, in the public space, and we see that
Speaker 4: as well, but it didn't yet and maybe it will
Speaker 4: not materialize on the customer preference.
Speaker 1: So our sales, we do sell electric vehicles, but the.
Speaker 4: Majority of sales is UH is combustion engine vehicles.
Speaker 3: Is the war affecting at all sales of these high
Speaker 3: end vehicles because I look at something like this and
Speaker 3: I think a shake could be driving this through you
Speaker 3: know the Emirates? Are you seeing any drops there?
Speaker 4: I mean, we have always impact of the overall economic
Speaker 4: situation and different markets react different to that. I'm not
Speaker 4: familiar with the exact our impact on the on the
Speaker 4: local sales, but as you can imagine, if you have
Speaker 4: uncertainty which is always impacting the economy, that is not
Speaker 4: necessarily helpful for your vehicle sales.
Speaker 3: I know the United States North America is your territory, right,
Speaker 3: but this car is has got to be a hit
Speaker 3: in China. They love their big limousines, their large luxury sedans.
Speaker 3: How has how has the seven series been doing in China?
Speaker 1: What do you expect from this new vehicle?
Speaker 4: It has been doing very well, and our expectation is
Speaker 4: that with this version that will continue to be the case,
Speaker 4: or probably we have an opportunity there to also expand
Speaker 4: our market position. It is definitely car which is very
Speaker 4: well received in China. But I have to say our
Speaker 4: designers did a fantastic job with this car.
Speaker 1: It really has a global appeal.
Speaker 4: It has this special about special thing about itself. It
Speaker 4: is the seventh series and people expect something from that.
Speaker 4: I mean behind you, it's not on camera right now,
Speaker 4: I'm sorry, but it's the first ever generation of this
Speaker 4: numbers well and that is something which has been built
Speaker 4: and now it's its own legacy. And now with this car,
Speaker 4: with this new front, I think that's a seven.
Speaker 1: And it's a seven in China, in.
Speaker 4: The Middle East, in Europe, and in the United States,
Speaker 4: in South America.
Speaker 3: And I know, I mean, you're number one in terms
Speaker 3: of big luxury car sales in China, but of course
Speaker 3: they're coming after you. They've got a competition on your heels.
Speaker 3: Are you more comfortable in a market like the United
Speaker 3: States where China is held firmly out of the market.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't talk about comfort level.
Speaker 4: I mean I have, as you say, I'm responsible for
Speaker 4: the business in the.
Speaker 1: US and in the America's region.
Speaker 4: Some of the markets we have new competitors in the
Speaker 4: market space or new entries from China. In South America
Speaker 4: mainly maybe now a little bit in Canada. I mean,
Speaker 4: you always have competition in the market. That what keeps
Speaker 4: you on your on your toes and makes you think
Speaker 4: about how you can do things better. So competition as
Speaker 4: such is not really a new thing. So there's one
Speaker 4: competitive more or ten competitors more.
Speaker 1: That's what we have to deal with.
Speaker 4: In every market is a little bit different, all.
Speaker 3: Right, Sebastian, thank you so much for inviting us down
Speaker 3: here at Grants on Sure Terminal showing us the pleasure
Speaker 3: global debut of your new seven series. Bashi and Macatson
Speaker 3: runs the North American business for BMW.