Dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, good morning and welcome to the telephone conference of the BMW Group for the first quarter. Today we have here, as always, Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management, and our CFO, Walter Mertl. First, Walter will take you through our financial results. Oliver will then give you a general business update for the BMW Group. After a short break, we will then have time for our Q&A session. Walter, please, you are the first. Go ahead.
Many thanks, Max. Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. In a highly dynamic environment, the BMW Group has delivered sales and profitability for the first quarter in line with expectations. Our core business has a strong foundation of highly attractive products and is well diversified. With a balanced presence in our sales regions, we have a strong competitive position and are able to deliver a consistent performance. In the first quarter, the BMW Group proved this once again. Let's take a look into the key figures for the first quarter. Group earnings before tax totaled over EUR 3.1 billion. Based on group revenues of EUR 33.8 billion, this resulted in a group EBITDA margin of 9.2%. The EBIT margin in the automotive segment came in at the upper end of our 2025 annual target corridor with 6.9%. Excluding the depreciation resulting from the purchase price allocation of BBA, the margin was 8.1%.
Global retail sales decreased slightly by 1.4% compared to last year's first quarter. Sales of all electric vehicles, meaning BEV, increased by 32.4%, which represents a share of 18.7% of total sales. Let's come to more details on how the automotive segment performed across key metrics. In the first quarter, the BMW Group delivered just over 586,000 BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce vehicles to customers, a slight decrease of 1.4% compared to last year's first quarter. While the BMW brand was slightly down 2% year- on- year, the MINI brand benefited from the full availability of all models and reported a growth of 4.1%. Group sales grew across all regions except China. Here, as expected, the lower run rate of the second half of 2024 has carried over into the first quarter of 2025.
The sales development in the Chinese market in Q1 was also impacted by the model changeover of our important BMW X3 and operational challenges in certain areas of the dealer network. In Europe, the BMW Group increased retail sales solidly by 6.2%. The order intake for BMW vehicles in the region across our entire product portfolio is strong, with an order bank reaching well into the third quarter. In particular, BEV retail sales grew by 64.2% in Europe, confirming the region's crucial role in driving our electrification strategy. In the U.S., year-on-year retail sales grew by 4%. Our commitment to electrification remains an important cornerstone of our strategy, and the demand for our all-electric vehicles remains strong. In the first three months, the BMW Group delivered almost 110,000 all-electric vehicles to customers worldwide, representing a significant growth of almost a third.
The share of our all-electric vehicles amounted to 18.7% of total sales. Our electrified vehicles, meaning BEVs and plug-in hybrids, accounted for almost 27% of total sales. With our comprehensive and compelling lineup of electrified vehicles, we remain confident that we will meet our CO2 emission targets in the EU of 2025. Automotive segment revenues amounted to EUR 29.2 billion, and they are moderately lower than in the same quarter of 2024, mainly due to lower vehicle sales to dealers. Segment EBIT for the first three months was over EUR 2 billion, with an EBIT margin of 6.9%. Let's now have a detailed look at the year-on-year changes in the operational results on the next slide. Auto EBIT declined by around EUR 700 million compared to the first quarter of 2024. Changes in currency and raw material positions accounted for a positive impact of around EUR 100 million.
The net balance of volume, model mix, and pricing effects was a headwind of EUR 900 million compared to the first quarter of 2024. The combined effect from volume and mix was neutral. The pricing headwind compared to Q1 2024 reflects the global price environment and especially the challenges of the highly competitive Chinese market. In China, the price levels of the second half of 2024 continued into the first quarter, as expected and explained at the annual conference in March 2025. Accordingly, Q1 revenues per vehicle in the automotive segment were below the level of Q1 2024, but for the full year, they are expected to be in line with last year's level. Ladies and gentlemen, I emphasized at our annual conference that for the year 2025, not only R&D expenditure and CapEx, but also operational costs will decrease compared to 2024.
Our Q1 results provide first evidence for this cost decrease in nominal terms, covering the effects of inflation. Research and development expenses were around EUR 200 million lower than in Q1 2024. Based on group R&D expenditure, the R&D ratio according to the German commercial code came in at 5.9%. Sales and administrative expenses also decreased year-on-year by about EUR 200 million, mainly due to lower IT costs. In other cost changes, the headwind of EUR 300 million essentially results from two topics. The income from the resale of end-of-lease vehicles was lower than in the first quarter of 2024, yet remains positive on average across the portfolio. The anti-subsidy tariffs imposed by the EU Commission on electrified vehicles from China impacted EBIT in the low three-digit million euros range in Q1.
The other tariff increases only started to come into effect from early March and therefore had minimal impact on the Q1 results. Free cash flow in the automotive segment totaled about EUR 400 million in the first quarter of 2025. Segment EBITDA amounted to EUR 1.9 billion, which is EUR 800 million lower than in the first three months of 2024. The net change in working capital contributed around EUR 100 million to free cash flow. Inventories rose during the first quarter as production exceeded retail sales and wholesale volumes. While this is typical first-quarter seasonality, this year's Q1 stock increase is much less pronounced than in previous years. The impact of increased inventories, as well as of higher trade receivables, was compensated by the development of trade payables, which increased also due to higher production levels. A net effect from capital expenditure and depreciation reduced free cash flow by EUR 600 million.
This includes a positive component with invests lower than depreciation in the first quarter. On the other hand, it also incorporates a higher cash outflow of EUR 964 million in Q1, which is related to the CapEx peak in the last quarter of 2024. Capital expenditure for January to March amounted to around EUR 1.2 billion, a year-on-year reduction of around EUR 100 million. The CapEx ratio for the first quarter was 3.6%. For the full year 2025, CapEx will decrease compared to 2024, with an expected CapEx ratio below 6%. The development of provisions reduced free cash flow by EUR 200 million. The change in the position other, which includes regular tax payments, led to a reduction in free cash flow of around EUR 800 million. For the full year, the BMW Group is targeting a free cash flow above EUR 5 billion in the automotive segment.
At the end of the first quarter, the automotive net financial assets came in at EUR 45.5 billion, which is around the same level as at the end of 2024. This provides a solid foundation to navigate the current challenges in global markets, and it enables us to distribute our automotive free cash flow via dividends and share buybacks. Ladies and gentlemen, the BMW Group remains committed to its shareholder return strategy, which includes both dividend payments and share buybacks. On April 3, we successfully concluded the fourth and final tranche of our second share buyback program. With completion of this program, we have repurchased shares valued at EUR 4 billion since the start of our share buyback authorization in 2022. This corresponds to a reduction in share capital of 7.27%.
At the upcoming AGM, the Board of Management of BMW Group will propose an agenda item seeking a new five-year authorization to acquire treasury shares amounting to up to 10% of share capital. Moving on to the financial services segment, a number of new contracts concluded with retail customers decreased slightly by 4.6% year-on-year to reach almost 403,000 contracts. For new vehicles, new business units were on par with last year's quarter. Consequently, the penetration rate for lease and loan offerings increased by 1.2 percentage points to 43%. For used vehicles, new business units decreased moderately due to the lower number of end-of-lease vehicles that were returned compared to the first quarter of 2024. New business volume grew by 2.4% to EUR 16 billion, driven by a higher average financing amount per contract. Segment earnings for the first quarter amounted to EUR 650 million, a year-on-year decrease of EUR 80 million.
This results mainly from two factors: a lower income from the resale of end-of-lease vehicles due to reduced average gains per unit and the lower number of returned vehicles compared to 2024. The credit loss ratio across the entire loan portfolio remained at a low rate of 0.23%. In the motorcycle segment, first-quarter deliveries decreased slightly by 3.9% year-on-year. EBIT for the first three months totaled EUR 76 million, with an EBIT margin of 9.4%. Ladies and gentlemen, let's move to our outlook for 2025. Our guidance given at the annual conference on March 14 included all the tariff increases in force as of March 12 already. Since then, political and macroeconomic volatility has increased even further. Due to ongoing developments and negotiations, the expected effects from tariffs on 2025 results can only be estimated based on certain assumptions.
We have taken the latest impact as of May 5, meaning tariffs on U.S. imports of CBU and non-U.S. MCA components at an additional 25%. On the other hand, the executive order from last week regarding non-stacking and the eligibility of 3.7% of MSRP for the Spartanburg production volume has some positive impact given our strong local footprint in the U.S. The extremely high tariffs for imports from the U.S. to China are negligible given we also have a strong local footprint in China. In particular, the localization of the X5 in 2022 helps mitigate it. Still, the tariff increases that started to come into effect from early March will have a notable impact on the Q2 results.
We assume that some of the tariff increases as of May 5 or up to May 5 will be temporary and that there will be reductions from July 2025. Our guidance also includes measures to mitigate the impact of higher tariffs. Based on all these assumptions and footprints, our guidance parameters for the full year remain unchanged. Group earnings before tax are expected to be at previous year's level. In the automotive segment, we are forecasting a slight increase in deliveries. The EBIT margin is expected in a corridor between 5%-7%. The EBIT margin in the motorcycle segment should come in at between 5.5%-7.5%. In the financial services segment, we are targeting a return on equity in the range of 13%-16% for the full year.
Ladies and gentlemen, the BMW Group delivered as expected in the first quarter, with an EBIT margin at the upper end of our full-year target corridor. The geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty has reached a level we have rarely seen before, but we are closely monitoring the impact of the current macroeconomic conditions and consumer sentiment. It is therefore all the more important that we continue to follow our long-term strategic plan. This includes using the flexibility of our global network to mitigate the impact of the current developments. It includes disciplined spending, be it R&D, CapEx, or operating costs. As we walk the talk, nominal cost reductions are already visible in our Q1 figures. Our clear long-term strategy, our strong brands and products, and the high level of cost discipline throughout our entire organization remain the basis for our long-term financial success. Many thanks.
Thank you, Walter.
Now over to our CEO, Oliver Zipse, please.
Ladies and gentlemen, as a global player, the BMW Group operates within the current tensions of world politics. Like many sectors of the global economy, we are adjusting to a new reality, one in which abrupt changes in external conditions often have far-reaching consequences, not just for our industry. In these circumstances, it is critical not to get caught up in the public frenzy or rush into hasty actions. That is why we continue to focus on our long-term strategic course with pragmatism and flexibility. This approach is providing its value despite the volatile conditions. The BMW Group has started 2025 in line with our high expectations. There are three main reasons for this. First, our fresh and attractive product lineup across all drive technologies, which helped us achieve a robust performance, especially in Europe and the United States of America.
Secondly, continued strong sales growth for our all-electric vehicles. Third, a high standard of cost discipline across the company. All of this meant that despite various influencing factors, our profitability for the first quarter was in the upper hand of our guidance. Let's now take a closer look at the details. In all major sales regions outside of China, we increased our sales compared to the same period of last year. Excluding China, sales grew by almost 6%. This confirms the effectiveness not only of our product strategy, but also of our technology-opened approach. Our vehicles are in demand across all types of drivetrains. We saw particularly good growth in Europe and the United States, with sales in Europe up solidly by more than 6% and an increase of 4% in the United States. We are growing steadily across the entire Americas region with growth of over 5%.
We're also growing overall in our markets outside of Europe, America, and China by 15%. Thanks to our strong performance in other markets, we were able to nearly offset the persistent challenges in the Chinese market. We have the right products on the market at the right time. A wide range of all-electric vehicles across all brands allows us to take full advantage of the growing demand for pure electric vehicles. The more than 32% increase in BEV sales underlines the strong appeal of our electric vehicles. Above all, high demand in Europe fueled this growth in BEVs. Here, sales of fully electric vehicles climbed by more than 64% year-on-year. E-mobility made by BMW is also gaining popularity in the United States, with sales up by more than 23%. Now, nearly one in five vehicles sold by the BMW Group is now fully electric.
The total share of electric vehicles that is pure electric cars plus plug-in hybrids now exceeds 25%. MINI, in particular, is benefiting from the strong demand for all-electric vehicles. Today, an electric heart beats in one out of every three vehicles built by the brand. With all models of the new MINI family now fully available, the brand recorded sales growth of 4%. In China, locally built electric models played a key role in the brand's growth of over 18%. The share of fully electric vehicles in total sales is especially important for meeting European CO2 targets. In 2024, the BMW Group once again significantly outperformed its European CO2 fleet target. Based on internal calculations, our numbers came in at under 100 grams per km in the WLTP cycle for the first time. We are confident that we will meet the original legal requirements this year as well.
In addition to the growth in all-electric vehicles, we also benefited from continued high demand for our sporty BMW M models, with sales up 5% in the first quarter. High-performance models such as the new BMW M5 variants and the BMW M3 were the main growth drivers. Ladies and gentlemen, the first quarter of 2025 highlighted our company's ability to seize opportunities in a challenging environment and to successfully defend our position in the marketplace. Looking ahead, new orders across all drive technologies give us every reason for confidence, especially in Germany, where we are seeing significant growth. Nevertheless, 2025 remains a year of high volatility. We are closely monitoring developments and preparing for different scenarios. This will enable us to respond flexibly and swiftly to changing circumstances. We remain firmly committed to deliver robust results and to meet our ambitious annual targets.
Free trade and international cooperation are important drivers of growth and progress. They have always guided our actions. In trade conflicts, on the other hand, nobody wins. All sides should therefore avoid a spiral of isolation and trade barriers and instead promote growth, progress, and innovation worldwide. We are advocating for this at various political levels in our markets. Thanks to our international footprint and strong long-term commitment in various countries, we enjoy a high level of credibility. That is why people listen to us attentively and our arguments are well received. Ladies and gentlemen, it is especially important in challenging times that we continually assess the situation in our markets and regions. That is why I have spent significant time in the past few weeks gathering information about the situation on the ground in our most important markets. Just two weeks ago, I was at Auto Shanghai.
This trade show provides a valuable indicator for current trends, especially for the Chinese markets. One of the highlights of the show was the world premiere of our BMW Vision Driving Experience, or VDX for short. This is the most powerful development prototype BMW has ever built. The key data speaks for itself: 18,000 Nm of torque, 1.2 tons of downforce, lateral forces of up to 3 g. These are the kind of numbers you usually only see in top-of-the-range racing cars. The VDX is a pure test vehicle designed to push the limits of driving physics. However, many of its technologies will be used in our Neue Klasse. In particular, the VDX showcases the performance capabilities of our Heart of Joy, one of our four high-performance computers that will control key functionalities such as driving dynamics, automated driving, and infotainment in our Neue Klasse.
The Heart of Joy clusters, all drivetrain and driving dynamics function in a single standardized electronic control unit. In combination with our dynamic performance control system, which was developed entirely in-house, we are redefining the BMW brand's most fundamental core characteristic. We are creating nothing else than the next level of sheer driving pleasure. We demonstrated exactly what this means with an incredible live performance in Shanghai. For this purpose, we built our own test track with a massive ramp. The public and trade press were more than impressed with the performance and possibilities unleashed when we combine our decades of experience in driving dynamics with cutting-edge control technology. This is something only we at BMW can do.
Our customers will benefit directly from this because a system that can manage forces like these can also handle everyday operations with ease, not just in terms of agility and driving stability, but also efficiency and comfort. Towards the end of the year, serious production of the Neue Klasse will begin at our new plant in Debrecen, in Hungary, starting with the brand new BMW iX3, which will celebrate its world premiere at the IAA Mobility in Munich in September. After that, the rollout will continue in rapid succession. In 2026 already, production of a sporty sedan at the heart of the BMW brand will get underway at our main plant here in Munich. We're deliberately launching the Neue Klasse in high-volume segments so that our innovations can immediately have a broad impact.
Between now and 2027, we will release more than 40 new or updated BMW models onto the market, from BEVs to plug-in hybrids to vehicles with combustion engines. All of these will benefit from the technologies we develop of the Neue Klasse. Of course, from the new design language as well. No other manufacturer has a project as comprehensive and groundbreaking as ours ready for production. Ladies and gentlemen, with its broad product portfolio across all brands, its technology-open approach, and highly flexible production network, the BMW Group is in an excellent position to exploit growth opportunities as they arise. Thanks to our global footprint, we are also able to respond quickly to changes in individual regions as well as challenges around the world. We will continue to build on these typical BMW strengths in the future. Thank you.
Yes, thank you very much, Oliver.