Ladies and gentlemen, the BMW Group is a company that takes the long view, that is profitable even in a volatile environment, and that always charts its own course. In 2022, we grew in three different ways with the complex challenges we faced with e-mobility and with our earnings. On the one hand, our focus is on operational excellence in the here and now. We know we can handle complexity. We can pivot quickly if the situation requires, and that makes the company more resilient than ever. On the other hand, we consistently maintain our course for the future, realizing our goals with determination. A good example of this is our BEV ramp-up since 2013. We steer it to closely track growing demand. Since the start of the BMW i3, we've put more than 500,000 all-electric BMW and MINI vehicles on the roads worldwide.
In fact, we sold more than 215,000 all-electric vehicles just last year, that is more than double the number from 2021 despite the difficult supply situation. We deliver on our promises. That has been a differentiating factor for BMW for over 100 years. With our strong BEV growth, we are leaving established competitors far behind, not to mention many of the BEV-only manufacturers from the United States and Asia who are new to the market. This is true both in absolute terms and also in terms of our growth dynamic. We continue to up the pace. Demand remains strong. That's why all-electric vehicles are expected to account for 15% of our global sales this year already. This will mean another big leap and the highest absolute increase we have targeted to date.
We've clearly defined the next milestones for our BEV ramp-up. A fifth of overall sales in 2024, a quarter in 2025, and a third in 2026. With this momentum, more than half the vehicles we sell worldwide will be all electric before 2030. It goes without saying that the percentage in Europe will already be well over 50% by then. If individual markets or regions demand 100% e-mobility at a certain point in time, we will be ready and able to deliver. BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce, and BMW Motorrad already offer fully electric cars and two-wheelers in practically all the segments we serve. We already have a dozen fully electric cars in our lineup this year, covering a range of different customer requirements. Last year, I was only able to show you the profile of the BMW i7 and the BMW iX1.
Today, those production models are standing right here beside me. Both vehicles are fresh on the market and impressing the media and customers alike. With all our BEVs, we are attracting an especially high number of new customers across different segments, and that is another reason why we are expanding our BEV range in a deliberate manner, and we are not done yet. In 2023, we will take the next big step to fulfill the diverse technological needs of our customers around the globe. Later this year, we will be realizing the latest version of the world's most successful business sedan on the market, the new BMW 5 Series, including, of course, the fully electric i5. This will also be followed in 2024 by two plug-in hybrid variants.
The official launch is still a few months away, but behind me you can at least see the camouflaged i5. Production will get underway in the summer. From October onwards, the i5 will initially be released in Korea, Europe, and the United States. BMW M fans get to experience the perfect harmony of e-mobility and dynamic performance in a very unique way. BMW M GmbH reported a record year to mark its fiftieth anniversary in 2022, and the best-selling model was the fully electric BMW i4 M50. I think that speaks for itself. It is another reason why we are also bringing the new i5 onto the market as an M performance model. Today, I can also announce the new BMW 5 Series Touring, which is particularly popular here in Europe.
Our touring fans will be excited to hear that an all-electric version of the Touring will also be available for the first time from spring 2024. That is our unique selling point in this segment. I can also officially confirm the new BMW X2 and of course the all-electric iX2. This is already BMW's second BEV offering in the high-volume compact class. Like the iX1, we're building the iX2 in Germany at our Regensburg plant. It will be launched towards the end of this year. E-mobility is a priority for us, and we measure ourselves against this. That is why, starting this year, the BEV share of total sales will be a key performance indicator for our management of the company. Our BEVs also make a vital contribution to achieve further tangible reductions in the CO2 emissions of our Europe new vehicle fleet.
At 105 g of CO2 per km in the WLTP cycle, we even outperformed the EU27+2 fleet target by 22.5 g per km by the end of 2022. As you can see, the BMW Group can also be relied on to meet political directives, and we are pressing ahead with our BEV ramp up. At the same time, we remain true to our broad technological approach. Why? Because we don't want to miss out any market potential, and this is the only way to effectively contribute to climate protection in all markets. It is also the only way we could continue to take different customer needs in the regions and markets into account. In addition to BEVs, we are also seeing particularly strong growth in the profitable high-end premium and luxury segments.
More specifically, we anticipate growth here in the mid double-digit percentage range in 2023. Thanks to attractive models like the new BMW 7 Series, the BMW X7, and the BMW XM, and of course, the Rolls-Royce model family. This will be joined in the spring by updates to the BMW X5 and the BMW X6. From 2025 onwards, the Neue Klasse will bring added momentum to sales of our all-electric vehicles. We intend to release at least six models onto the market within 24 months of the start of production. Before we look ahead to the future, here's Nicolas Peter to talk about our key figures for the financial year 2022.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. As you know, the BMW Group consistently delivers on its strategic priorities, excellence in execution, and compelling returns for all stakeholders. 2022 was no exception. Our group EBT margin stood at 16.5%. Our automotive operating earnings increased 7.8% year-over-year. The EBIT margin for the segment of 8.6% was at the upper end of our target range of 7%-9%. Excluding the consolidation effects of the BBA full consolidation, the auto EBIT margin stood at 11.2%. Free cash flow in the automotive segment reached EUR 11 billion, well over our projection of at least EUR 10 billion. We reached our overall sales target thanks to double-digit growth in Q4, as well as our BEV delivery target with sales more than doubled from 2021.
We also met all our non-financial targets. This includes a further reduction of our CO2 fleet emissions to 105 g, representing an outperformance of 22.5 g. We achieved all of this in the face of many challenges that caused a high level of volatility in our business environment. Continued semiconductor shortages and supply chain bottlenecks impacted us throughout the year and led to production disruptions. This included bottlenecks in vehicle and parts logistics, partly due to pandemic-related lockdowns in China. The combination of these factors dampened vehicle sales in the first half year, in particular, as we were simply unable to meet demand. Under these difficult conditions, the BMW Group proved its resilience and earnings power yet again. In all areas of the company, our employees have worked tirelessly to help us navigate through these challenges.
Thanks to our globally balanced footprint, we are able to react flexibly to developments in our markets. In a volatile environment, we recorded strong sales figures in the second half year and concluded the full year with a robust business performance. At the same time, we had an exceptional development throughout the increase of our stake in our Chinese joint venture, BBA, to 75%, and the full consolidation in the BMW Group's financial statements. We are capitalizing on the strengths of both companies to increase agility and thus enhance the ability of BBA to exploit opportunities in a volatile and dynamic business environment. Let's now take a look at the business development in detail. Revenues at group level amounted to EUR 142.6 billion for the year.
Cost of sales also increased significantly due to the inclusion of BBA's cost of sales and rising material and logistic costs. A higher share of electric vehicles, as well as increased risk provisions for our financial services business, also factored into the increase. Group earnings before tax reached EUR 23.5 billion. The significant increase compared to 2021 reflects the revaluation effect of previously held BBA shares amounting to EUR 7.7 billion. Additional tailwinds came from strong pricing and ongoing positive developments in the pre-owned vehicle markets. As mentioned, the Group EBT margin came in at 16.5%. Let's now take a closer look at the individual segments, starting with the automotive segment. With a strong second half year, we achieved our annual sales target with a slight reduction of 4.8% compared to 2021.
In total, we delivered nearly 2.4 million vehicles to customers worldwide. Due to the factors mentioned before that affected production, we adjusted our volume target after the first six months. In 2022, we sold nearly 216,000 all-electric BMW and MINI vehicles, more than doubling our total from the previous year. The segment's operating earnings totaled almost EUR 11 billion. At 8.6%, the EBIT margin is at the upper end of our target range of 7%-9% for 2022, and within our long-term strategic target range of 8%-10%. Excluding consolidation effects of the BBA full consolidation, the auto EBIT margin stood at 11.2%. Despite the reduced sales volume, the year-on-year increase in segment earnings was mainly driven by improved pricing.
Positive effects also came from the full consolidation of BBA, while our after-sales business also saw significant growth. The continuing positive development in pre-owned car markets and positive currency effects also contributed to the increase. Throughout the year, rising costs for materials and logistics impacted the segment's EBIT, resulting in a headwind of more than EUR 2.5 billion. This primarily reflects the limited availability of semiconductors and supply chain disruptions, as well as higher raw material and energy prices. Higher expenses for warranty provisions due to the Exhaust Gas Recirculation Cooler and inflation adjustments also dampened earnings. Consolidation effects from the initial consolidation of BBA totaled around EUR 3.1 billion. These included depreciation and amortization from the purchase price allocation and elimination of interim profits in connection with intra-group deliveries.
The significant increase in the financial result to EUR 8.3 billion mainly came from the fair market valuation of previously held equity interests in BBA, which resulted in a one-time effect of around EUR 7.7 billion. Free cash flow in the automotive segment reached EUR 11 billion and includes around EUR 5 billion of net cash acquired from BBA at the date of initial consolidation. For 2023, our ambition is to achieve a free cash flow of around EUR 7 billion. Ladies and gentlemen. The BMW Group is known for its innovative strengths. We remain focused on our transformation as we electrify and digitalize our business. Overall, we invested around EUR 7.8 billion in 2022 in new vehicle projects, as well as in the digital backbone and digital features of our vehicles and battery technology.
This resulted in an overall CapEx ratio of 5.5%. For 2023, we expect the CapEx ratio to be around 6%. This higher level of capital investment ensures the future viability of our business. We are preparing our global production network for further electrification with investments in China, Spartanburg, and Mexico, and the launch of our Neue Klasse with the upcoming plant in Hungary. Our approach of thinking globally and acting locally gives us the flexibility to react to individual market developments. Research and development expenditure remains at a high level with a priority on the further electrification of our portfolio and expansion of digital features. In addition to expenses for new models, a major focus in 2022 was software architecture and preparations for the upcoming Neue Klasse. R&D costs according to IFRS totaled EUR 6.6 billion, moderately higher than 2021.
The R&D ratio according to the German Commercial Code stood at 5.0% for the full year. As expected, the ratio is lower than the previous year, despite the ongoing high level of R&D expenditure due to the increase of revenues from the full consolidation of BBA. Moving forward, we are adjusting our long-term target range for the R&D ratio to between 4% and 5% from 2023, reflecting the impact of BBA consolidation in our revenues. Let's turn now to the financial services segment. Pre-tax earnings amounted to EUR 3.2 billion, a significant decrease on the previous year, which was influenced by an exceptionally positive risk situation. In 2022, geopolitical uncertainty and a weaker macroeconomic outlook led to higher provisions for credit risks, mainly starting in the third quarter. Nevertheless, the actual credit loss ratio currently remains at a historically low level.
However, in the second half year of 2022, we saw a slightly increasing trend. Positive effects on earnings continued from high revenues from the resale of our end of lease vehicles. However, the total volume of new business from financing and leasing contracts with retail customers for the year was down. The decrease primarily reflects rising interest rates related price increases and a very competitive landscape in the financial services sector, coupled with the overall limited availability of new vehicles. On the other hand, average financing volume per vehicle increased due to higher vehicle prices and an improved product mix. The return on equity of 17.9% was within our adjusted target range of 17%-20%. In 2022, the motorcycle segment delivered its strongest sales performance in its history with over 200,000 units sold.
The R 1250 GS and R 1250 GS Adventure boxer models were particularly popular with customers with just under 60,000 units delivered. 2022 also saw the launch of the CE 04 with 5,000 units sold already. The e-scooter has demonstrated clearly the popularity of electric urban mobility. As it enters its centennial year, the brand continues to see growth in markets worldwide with double-digit growth in the U.S. and Latin America in 2022. The EBIT margin for the segment came in at 8.1%. Pre-tax earnings amounted to EUR 269 million, significantly above the previous year. Let's look at earnings in the other entity segment and inter-segment eliminations. At around EUR 1.1 billion, the combined result was higher than the previous year.
Positive valuation effects from interest rate derivatives driven by significantly higher interest rates as well as lower inter-segment eliminations from the reduced leasing business contributed to the increase. Ladies and gentlemen, despite the difficult business environment, the BMW Group posted strong earnings for 2022. This allows us to invest in the future transformation of the company. We remain focused on ensuring that our shareholders participate in the company's success. To that end, the board of management and the supervisory board will propose a dividend of EUR 80.50 per share of common stock and EUR 8.52 per share of preferred stock to the annual general meeting. This represents a payout ratio of 30.6%, which is within our long-term strategic target range of 30%-40%.
Additionally, we successfully launched the first program of the share buyback, which was approved at the annual general meeting in May 2022. We expect to complete the first program by the middle of the year. This underscores our financial strength and robust liquidity from operations. Ladies and gentlemen, let's turn our attention now to 2023. Our strong, consistent financial performance provides us the flexibility to invest in the future of our business. We are always steering the company towards profitability and leveraging efficiencies in all segments and across all brands. Overall, we expect demand in premium markets to remain stable in 2023. Currently, we see stability in the U.S., slight softening in Europe, and expect to see some recovery in China from the second quarter, although it is too early to judge the full impact.
Despite some leveling off of order intakes from the exceptional levels in European markets at the end of 2022, our order books remain well filled due to our attractive product lineup, especially for our BEVs. The launch of the new X1 and all-new iX1 in Q4 provided fresh momentum for customer orders, particularly in Europe. This means we have maintained in 2023 the strong pricing levels achieved in 2022. We also see positive momentum coming from the top end of our portfolio, where we anticipate growth in the mid-double-digit % range and high-margin products in 2023. We will have a full year of the new 7 Series and i7, the upgraded X7, as well as the XM. With the X5 Long Wheelbase localized in China, we also have additional X family capacity in Spartanburg.
As you can see, we are leveraging our leading SUV competence and expanding our top segment. Even if macroeconomic conditions lead to reduced customer demand, our high level of flexibility in production and sales allows us to maintain a profit-oriented balance between supply and demand while capitalizing on new products. Our guidance for this year reflects the current status of our planning. The supply situation remains challenging as we expect the situation on raw material markets to remain difficult in 2023. However, the availability of components and semiconductors should improve slightly. While the energy supply should stabilize, disruptions and further significant cost burdens in supply chains are still expected. Logistic costs will therefore continue to weigh on earnings. Regarding pre-owned car markets, we are anticipating the situation to begin to normalize in 2023 due to the increased availability of new cars.
Despite the current high inflation and interest rates and the challenges I've mentioned, we are confident about the financial year 2023. Targeted investments and close cooperation with a strong supplier network will help us achieve our goals for the year. For the Group pretax profit, we expect a significant year-on-year decrease. This is due to the basis effect from the revaluation of previously held BBA shares in 2022. The BMW Group's headcount will increase slightly. Due to the better availability of new vehicles and strong order book levels, we are forecasting a slight increase in deliveries in the automotive segment, driven by growth of our BEVs and high-end models. Reflecting the increased focus on all-electric vehicles, the BMW Group will now only report on the share of all-electric vehicles in total deliveries, excluding PHEVs, starting in 2023.
For the share of all-electric vehicles, we expect a significant increase compared to 2022. We expect the EBIT margin in the automotive segment to be within our long-term strategic target range of 8%-10%. In the motorcycle segment, deliveries are forecast to increase slightly with an EBIT margin in our target range of 8%-10%.
In the financial service segment, we should see a return on equity within the range of 14%-17%. Ladies and gentlemen, in such a complex and volatile environment, the BMW Group demonstrates resilience in delivering on strategic priorities, excellence in execution, and competitive returns to all stakeholders. We walk the talk and reliably deliver on the commitments that we make. This has always been a strength of ours. We have proven it many times over the past several years in the face of external challenges and taken the lessons with us. In 2023, we will continue to leverage the flexibility of our business model to secure our profitability. Our strong financial position provides us a basis not only to manage the challenges ahead, but to drive the transformation of the BMW Group forwards. We are investing in our futures towards electrification and digitalization.
We remain well-positioned to continue to lead the industry and look positively to the road ahead. With that, I'll hand back to Oliver, who will dive deeper into our strategic outlook. Thank you.
On the road to the Neue Klasse, we revealed our digital vision vehicle at the CES in Las Vegas. This was a real sensation. Hey, Dee, you've caused quite a stir since your debut in Vegas. Now you're standing here with me at BMW Welt. Are you ready?
Hey, Oliver. Ready when you are.
At the BMW Group, we deliver on our promises. That is our pledge. The same applies to digital innovations. We are making mobility a totally new experience for our customers. Our revolutionary head-up display blurs the lines between reality and the virtual world. Augmented Reality even enhances the real world. No one has ever imagined and implemented it like this in a car before. We call it BMW Panoramic Vision. It is certainly not science fiction. In 2025, just two years away, a standard production version of this technology will be used in the Neue Klasse.
Innovation is all about creating the perfect experience. At BMW, we are true innovators. We are perfecting cars that are already quite perfect, creating unique immersive experiences and always following our vision to merge real driving pleasure with virtual experience. Transforming the car into a portal to the virtual world, reinventing reality. This is the future of BMW. Our vision is the most important source of inspiration for our brands and products today. Why have a vision if not to bring it to life? The Head-Up Display, essential for navigation and safety, we have been improving it for 20 years.
Now we are taking it to a whole new level, the all-new BMW Panoramic Vision, a fundamental new element of the future BMW human machine interaction system, transforming the entire windshield into an outstanding gigantic display, an iconic tech milestone, a highly customizable cutting-edge user interface projecting all the information you need with full context and situation awareness perfectly displayed in the driver's line of sight. On top of that, exclusive brand-new media and entertainment features for all passengers. With the BMW Panoramic Vision, we will enter a new dimension of eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. We will revolutionize the emotional experience with your BMW. This is just one of our upcoming game-changing innovations. We've got a lot more to come this year.
At the CES, we demonstrated how we can integrate software and hardware into a perfect customer experience. Behind a digitalized vehicle like our Vision Vehicle D, there stands a digital company. What others are only just announcing has long been reality for us. We already have the world's biggest update-compatible fleet of 4 million vehicles on the roads. We have rolled out the third generation of our Operating System 8. We are realizing we're raising the bar again with the Operating System 8.5 and the Operating System 9. We know exactly what we develop in-house and where we need to integrate partners. For example, in Qualcomm Arriver, we have a strong strategic partner for the next generation of driver assistance systems.
We already use vehicle and fleet data from over 20 million vehicles connected to the BMW Cloud for intelligent customer functions, predictions, and improved efficiency. For the required IT infrastructure we use, among other things, our strategic cooperation with Amazon Web Services. Our position is clear. We live by digital sovereignty for data and intellectual property, independence and data protection. One thing is clear; it is our employees who are developing these innovations. We are creating the knowledge of tools needed to identify and implement digital potential in every area of responsibility.
We make BMW digital with a strong focus on our people.
I'm the best proof, Ilka, and I've brought someone with me.
Do you remember Max?
Of course, Dee, I remember Max.
Hi.
Good to see you.
Good to see you too.
You were in the team that designed Dee's digital user experience, right?
That's right. Have a look at this. With the Mixed Reality Slider, you can decide how much digital content you wanna see and when.
That sounds really great. For me, these features really have to be created to serve support and simplify our lives.
That's why we call Dee the ultimate companion.
Max, you're such a great example that behind fully digital products like Dee stand great employees. We are applying features such as AI, virtualization, data science, and analytics as a matter of course. The digital transformation goes much further. It's about responsibility, it's about the right mindset, and it's about enabling. For this, we are constantly boosting digital competencies of our employees and our leadership team. This year, we are shifting into an even higher gear with one goal in mind: to deliver the best customer experience and the best company performance. You see, we don't just do digitalization at BMW, we make BMW digital.
That sounds great, Ilka. I'm in.
Great, Di. Come on, Max. Let's go.
The theater screen in the new BMW 7 Series is a good example of how we are also realizing digital innovations in collaboration with our suppliers.
This highly exclusive private cinematic experience on wheels came out of our cooperation with Amazon and three other companies. Collaborating with our suppliers is not just about technical innovations. Our supply chains need to meet increasingly complex and demanding requirements for CO2 emissions, environmental and social standards, and on the road to a circular economy. The aim is for the BMW Group's entire value chain to be climate neutral no later than 2050. This will require many individual steps. Let me give you three examples to illustrate how our holistic approach starting next year will be sourcing significantly CO2 reduced aluminum in Canada exclusively for vehicle production at our U.S. plant in Spartanburg. We also have concluded agreements for delivery of CO2 reduced steel in Europe, the United States, and China.
Our goal is to supply more than a third of our global production network with CO2 reduced steel from 2026 onwards. This move alone will avoid 900,000 tons of CO2 in our supply chain and support the transformation of the steel industry. We continue to pursue our major goal of a circular economy. To achieve this, we are significantly increasing the percentage of secondary material in our vehicles, and especially for the Neue Klasse. We showed how the circular economy can be implemented in our industry with our BMW i Vision Circular two years ago. The key to all this is close cooperation with our partners in the supplier network.
The future is decided by innovations. This will be especially true for our customers' digital experience in the Neue Klasse. That's exactly what a BMW i Vision Dee stands for. We bring the most powerful innovations and technologies into the company in close cooperation with our supplier network. We are looking far into the future using our expertise to identify digital innovations and enable our suppliers to make them ready for serious production. The Digital Key represents co-development at its best. We have set a unique industry standard together with Apple. The driver uses the smartphone as a car key, contactless and without even taking it out of his pocket. Today, this works across iOS and Android on Apple, Google, and Samsung devices with more to follow. Increasing innovation scouting and actively empowering our partners to innovate.
This is how we are tapping into the opportunities of the future.
In production, we are bringing innovation to life. It is part of our DNA to seamlessly integrate the latest technologies. This year, we already produce 11 fully electric models in our global production network. Like the sporty and thrilling BMW i4 here in Plant Munich, or our technological masterpiece, the BMW i7. With Neue Klasse, we will take the next massive leap forward. Starting with Debrecen, we will integrate its new vehicle architecture and the new generation of high voltage batteries into our global production network. As you can see, the BMW iFACTORY is taking shape, highly flexible at full speed, and always leveraging the opportunities of digitalization. Take a look yourself. In the virtual world, our Vision Dee is already rolling off the line. Welcome to the future of BMW Group production.
BMW iFACTORY, that is the future for our global production network. We are expanding this concept in great strides in all major regions of the world. We completed two key projects in China last year. In April, the expansion at our Dadong location began operations. This is where we are localizing the BMW X5 as a long wheelbase version for the Chinese market. In late June, we also put another plant into service at our TG site. The plant is fully geared towards e-mobility and was planned entirely in a virtual environment. In Europe, at around the same time, we laid the foundation stone for our new plant in Debrecen, Hungary. It should become a pioneer in sustainable and climate-friendly production. This plant was also planned completely digitally. Production of the Neue Klasse will get underway there in 2025. From then on, others will follow in rapid succession.
Our main plant in Munich in 2026. In 2027, our Mexican plant in San Luis Potosi, with other locations to follow. We're also enabling our largest plant worldwide, Plant Spartanburg in South Carolina in the United States, for production of all electric vehicles. We're investing over $1.7 billion in this site. By 2030, we will have six pure electric models coming off the production line in the U.S. We will be manufacturing the high voltage batteries needed for this at a completely new plant in nearby Woodruff. Woodruff is just one example of our production of high voltage batteries around the world. At the moment, we are manufacturing high voltage batteries for our current electric models in Germany and in China at our Shenyang location.
Debrecen in Hungary, San Luis Potosi in Mexico, and Woodruff will complete this network for the sixth generation of battery technology in the future. This local for local approach enables us to secure our BEV ramp up in individual regions of the world and significantly increase our resilience to unforeseen events. Our world is diverse and individual at the same time. We believe that the mobility of the future also needs more than one leg to stand on in addition to battery electric drivetrains. We see hydrogen electric vehicles as a meaningful complement to e-mobility, even if with something of a time lag. Hydrogen has a lot of potential. Globally and across all industry, we are already on the way to becoming a hydrogen society. At BMW, we could even envision a production vehicle in the second half of this decade.
Hydrogen could also be a possible drive technology for the Neue Klasse going forward. Technologically, we are ready. We proved this a few weeks ago when we presented our BMW iX5 Hydrogen in Antwerp. A range of around 500 kilometers in the WLTP cycle and refueling in 3 minutes - 4 minutes speak for themselves. We're now sending a pilot fleet out into selected markets to gain customer experience. Let's leave the slightly more distant hydrogen technology and come back to what our customers can look forward to today and in the near future. MINI will be really taking off in the next few years. By the early 2030s, the brand will be electric only. This is what the pioneering new MINI family is all about.
A total of three new electric models will be coming onto the market next year. Standing next to me is the new MINI Cooper Electric. I'm confident the fan community is also going to love the MINI Countryman and the MINI Aceman. Rolls-Royce will be all electric from the start of the next decade. The Spectre is being released at exactly the right time. We have never had so many pre-orders for an all-new Rolls-Royce model. BMW Motorrad already relies solely on e-drives in urban settings. Following on from the CE 04, the CE 02 is mainly designed to appeal young people living in the city. The concept is standing right here beside me. Today's perfect customer experience also entails personalized communication with customers in the worlds they live in.
Hi, Dee. It's great to see you again.
Thanks, Peter. Personal exchange is so important.
That's right. Direct communication with our customers, enabling direct customer access is the strategic imperative of our sales division.
How exactly does this benefit the customer?
Well, I'll give you an example, Dee. Take the My BMW App and MINI App. It allows our customers to communicate directly with us and with their BMW and MINI vehicles and enables us to create direct customer access.
To already more than 10 million users.
Yes, Dee, and more importantly, 2 million people use it every day.
That's pretty impressive.
We aren't stopping there. Take our direct sales model. We are launching it in Europe, starting in 2024 with MINI, followed in 2026 for all BMW products. It creates a win-win for everyone. Our customers get the best customer experience in the industry, our retailers get an attractive business model, and we will have direct customer access.
In the end, it's all about.
Our customers. They take center stage, now more than ever.
Focused on the customer with highly attractive products for all brands and a new sales model. This is how we are heading into the future together with our retailers. We have broad support from our sales partners. This collaborative approach is what sets us apart from others. Direct sales with agents acting as sales representatives will be a key element of our realigned sales structure. We have already successfully tested this as part of a pilot project in South Africa. We launched this model in China for MINI on the first of March this year already. It will be followed next year by the European sales region for MINI. We plan to transition the BMW brand in Europe from 2026 onwards. Ladies and gentlemen, at the BMW Group, we move body, heart and mind. This aspiration also encapsulates our impact on society as a value-based, value-creating company.
Above all, we deliver on our promises. You will always be able to rely on the BMW Group for this in the future. In 2023, our strategic approach will once again keep us on track for success. We will meet current requirements with our fresh technological broad product lineup and with our operational excellence. At the same time, we will remain focused on our course for the future. With the Neue Klasse, we're embarking on a new era of mobility. At the same time, taking the company into the next dimension.
Thank you, Oliver. Thank you, Nicolas. Ladies and gentlemen, now it's your turn. After a short break, we will start with our first Q&A session for journalists which will be held in German. A simultaneous English translation will be offered through the streaming site. All members of the board of management will join us. The second Q&A for investors and analysts in English will begin at about 11:15 A.M. For this session, Oliver and Nicolas will join us. A simultaneous Chinese translation will be offered for both sessions in the streaming site. We are looking forward to your questions. We will now get the studio ready and see you again at 9:45 A.M. Feel free to video call so that we can see you here in the room. We would appreciate if you already started dialing in. See you again shortly.