48 BMW Group Report 2024 To Our Stakeholders Combined Management Report Group Financial Statements Responsibility Statement and Auditor’s Report Remuneration Report Other Information Overview of the BMW Group » Customers will soon be able to choose whether to initiate the ordering process for their vehicle with a sales partner or online. Furthermore, they can seamlessly switch between both worlds, as the BMW Group is decisively and consistently advancing the digital sale (online sale) of vehicles. A key element of the newly aligned sales structure is the transi- tion to direct sales. Following the pilot market in South Africa, MINI was the first Group brand to implement the new sales model in China in 2023. Europe followed in the current reporting year with Italy, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Norway, France, Aus- tria, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. Additional European countries will transition to the MINI direct sales model throughout 2025. The introduction of direct sales for the BMW brand is planned for a later date in Europe. The new sales model benefits customers, sales partners and the BMW Group equally. The BMW Group relies on the existing dealer network, leveraging a central strength of the company: a highly effective and established sales structure. Thus, today's dealers will continue to act as active intermediaries between the BMW Group and our customers. In the Financial Services segment, we are also continually ex- panding our offerings to include comprehensive services, includ- ing insurance. As part of our strategic direction in the financial services business, we aim to make our product offerings acces- sible to all customer groups across all channels ↗ Financial Services Segment. This ensures that our customers receive personalised offers designed to meet their specific needs. Circular economy is a key focus for the BMW Group in the drive towards more resource-efficient mobility. The concept revolves around keeping materials circulating in the best possible way, ensuring that resources are used sustainably and retain their value over time. This approach opens up a range of opportunities across the entire value chain. Reusing valuable resources also reduces the BMW Group’s reliance on primary raw materials and their fluctuating prices. Furthermore, the use of high-quality sec- ondary materials should reduce the carbon footprint of our vehi- cles even further. For these reasons, the BMW Group is taking additional steps to increase the proportion of recycled materials. With this objective in mind, the BMW Group returns selected pro- duction residues to the supplier or material processor, enabling those materials to be recovered and returned in a new production process. Recycled and reused materials are already being used in BMW Group vehicles production today. Circular economy re- quires holistic thinking – from product design to vehicle recycling. ↗ Circular Economy and Resource Use « Collaboration – How does the BMW Group achieve this?* » The BMW Group is constantly striving for the best results. It supports its employees in further developing their strengths. The company promotes and demands strong teams, whose mem- bers complement each other's strengths, collaborate in a con- nected manner and develop optimal solutions in a complex envi- ronment. The BMW Group views its diversity as an important el- ement of its competitiveness ↗ Own Workforce. The diversity metric, for example, defines the proportion of women in leadership po- sitions as a strategic target, which also serves as a significant performance indicator for corporate governance. The aim is to increase the share of women in leadership positions at the BMW Group to 22% by the end of 2025. ↗ Performance Indicators and Performance Management Through long-established, stable relationships with our external partners, we aim to achieve maximum impact through trustwor- thy collaboration. The experiences gained during the recent COVID-19 pandemic have further strengthened these relation- ships within the partner network and supply chains. ↗ Purchasing and Supplier Network Together with our cooperation partners, we realise potential in terms of access to know-how, profitability and technology foot- print. In addition to the partnership with Qualcomm in the devel- opment of assisted and automated driving, the development partnership between the BMW Group and Solid Power offers benefits to both companies. ↗ Innovation and Product Technologies The development of the automotive industry, particularly with re- gard to electrification and digitalisation, is associated with pro- found changes. The BMW Group is proactively addressing the resulting challenges for the employment structure through tar- geted skills development and restructuring ↗ Own Workforce. As part of our integrative Just-Transition approach, we actively facil- itate a socially responsible transformation of our employees through comprehensive qualification and training measures. The realignment of our Munich headquarters in 2024 is an example of this. By 2027, the transformation of a full plant, including the production of internal combustion engines, to 100% electromo- bility will be implemented while production continues. Already to- day, the BMW Group develops and manufactures electrified drive components for its current electrified vehicles at its German loca- tions (Munich, Dingolfing, Landshut, Leipzig and Regensburg) as well as in China (Shenyang). For the next generation of high-volt- age batteries, new assembly sites will be established in Debre- cen (Hungary), San Luis Potosí (Mexico), Woodruff near Spartan- burg (USA), Shenyang (China) and in Germany at the new site in Irlbach-Straßkirchen, including the development of correspond- ing competencies. In this context, the BMW Group is making sig- nificant investments to drive continuous transformation across all aspects of sustainability (ESG criteria). ↗ Production Network, ↗ Own Workforce « * This section contains disclosures in line with ESRS 2 SBM-3.48 b), c) i., ii., iv.