High cost pressure – BMW -Baas is warned: “Some organs fail”

Turnover: 4.4 billion euros and so increased compared to 2024; Motors produced: 1,187 million documents; Investment sum: 562 million euros, where the majority flows to the new production of electric motor; Number of employees: grew from 4700 to 4900 before BMW Steyr boss Klaus von Moltke presented these figures and facts on Monday. “In fact, we had a successful year 2024 in Steyr,” said the director of the largest motorcycle factory of the German Premium vehicle manufacturer. But that is not a rest cushion. Klaus von Moltke spoke with the “Kroon” about …

• The start of the production of electric motor in Steyr:
  “The production of pre -series began in the fall 2024. We are in a good mood that we can deliver the drive machines this year for the ride of the new class on time and in the required quality.

• The growing staff:
  “This is also due to the fact that we now have a stable volume in the combustion world and still have to stand up for e-mobility. For us, the focus is that we will continue to keep this continuously in the coming years. It is not the case that the signs of extreme growth are.

• The success factors for the future:
  “The advantage that we have now is that we have installed a robust system for starting e-mobility, but again have a stable production volume of burning. We now know: whatever the market wants, we can deliver. This approach to technological openness will certainly give us security in the coming years – both for the area of ​​development and in production at the location.

• New projects:
  “We continue to work on the development of burners with regard to the entire subject of efficiency, Euro7, compatibility of alternative fuels such as HVO100. But we also want to make other jumps in the direction of e-mobility. And we actively apply for the subject of hydrogen fuel cell to start the development activities and to enter the industrialization of technology. We want to remain the largest drive location within the BMW group.

• The struggle to increase efficiency and high cost discipline:
  “We have always been very strong in Steyr on these topics. Digitization plays an important role here. You can see which activities you automate or which non -value -adding activities can be avoided. We have rolled out many projects at the location that contributed to the fact that we have achieved efficiency jumps. And we will continue to do this. It is also necessary to compensate for certain cost effects that we cannot directly influence.

• The difficult situation for many companies:
  “The full cost effects caused by energy, wage costs, negotiating results of collective agreement and such topics have a huge boost. The large number of bankruptcies and bottlenecks for suppliers, but also quality topics, which then also deal with increased effort – these are the subjects that worry me. The vehicle supply industry is really under pressure. If we consider the vehicle industry as a total organism, we see that individual organs fail. These are alarm signals, we should definitely act.

• His reaction to the growing challenges in the environment:
  “We must play a more active role in a conversation with the partners of the negotiations of the collective agreement. A constructive conversation is needed. If you are preparing for such a process at an early stage, you can prevent it from ending in unnecessary escalations, but rather with a result that brings us about the critical phase in which we are. This cannot be delegated to politics. I see the responsibility of those at the negotiating table. I think we just have to take responsibility – for ourselves as a company, for our workforce, but also for the industrial location of Austria.