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. However, as you can already see from the new start time for our conference, we have also adjusted the process for our quarterly calls. This will align with the process from our annual conference. That means we are still starting off with the speeches. They are now being held only once in English to make them easier to understand internationally. Written versions of the speeches in German and English are already available in our press club. Following the speeches, around 9:00 A.M., we will have a 5-minute technical break before we start the Q&A session for media representatives. As always, this will be held in German. A simultaneous English translation will be available. The Q&A session for analysts will follow at 10:15 A.M., also in English as always. This more streamlined process gives us valuable time, particularly for your questions, without losing substance. So, ladies and gentlemen, with that, let's get started. First, Walter will take you through our financial results. Oliver will then give you a general business update for the BMW Group. Afterwards, we will have time for our Q&A session, as just described. Walter, please go ahead. Many thanks. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. The BMW Group had a successful start into 2024. Both sales and earnings for the first quarter were in line with our expectations. This results from the focused implementation of our strategic priorities. At the BMW Group, we have strong brands and attractive products, which create ongoing high demand and a profitable operational business. In the first three months, the BMW Group delivered just under 595,000 vehicles to customers. This is a slight increase of 1.1% over the same period of last year. Our all-electric vehicles, in particular, made an important contribution with growth of 27.9%. If we look at the BMW brand alone, that number was 40.6%. At the same time, sales of models in the upper premium segment also recorded significant double-digit growth of more than 21%. The group EBITDA margin for the first quarter came in at 11.4%, which is above our strategic target of 10%. The EBIT margin in the automotive segment was 8.8%. This falls clearly within our target corridor of 8%-10%. Ladies and gentlemen, this quarter confirms once again that the BMW Group's operating business consistently delivers strong results. We have a clearly defined long-term plan, and we have significant flexibility in our systems and processes. This allows us to adapt quickly to developments and take advantage of market opportunities. On this basis, we expect to operate at a consistent level throughout 2024. Let's take a look at the financial figures for the first quarter in more detail. I will start with a brief overview at group level. BMW Group revenues were on par with the previous year. Group earnings before tax totaled around EUR 4.2 billion, resulting in a group EBITDA margin of 11.4%. Now more details on how the automotive segment performed across key metrics. In the first three months, the BMW Group delivered 595,000 BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce vehicles to customers. The BMW brand reported growth of 2.5%. Due to the upcoming model changeovers, MINI sales were down 9.4% from previous year. The new MINI family, comprising the Countryman, the Cooper, and the Aceman, will boost MINI sales, particularly in the second half of the year. This sales development is also reflected in segment revenues. Adjusted for currency translation effects, revenues saw a slight increase of 1.5%. Both the higher sales volume and positive product mix effects from the upper price segment and BEV contributed to the increase in revenues in quarter one 2024. This is expected to provide a tailwind for revenues also in the remainder of 2024. Furthermore, prices across the product portfolio are expected to be in line with last year's level. The electrification of our product lineup continued to generate substantial sales momentum in the most recent quarter. Almost 83,000 fully electric vehicles were sold, or 13.9% of our total sales. Taken together, BEV and plug-in hybrids accounted for about 21% of total sales in the first quarter. EBIT for the period from January to March was EUR 2.7 billion, with an EBIT margin of 8.8%. This means that the first quarter of 2024 is in line with the consistent trend in profitability since the beginning of 2022. Q1 2023 was exceptional, as the effects of inflation were not yet fully reflected in the operating result. I will provide more details on the Q1 year-on-year development with the EBIT bridge. Changes in commodity prices accounted for a positive impact of around EUR 200 million. Currency effects remained neutral. For the full year 2024, we anticipate a positive net balance from currency and commodity positions. This is expected to nearly offset material cost headwinds. The net balance of volume, model mix, and pricing effects is about EUR 300 million lower than for the first quarter of 2023. Increase in volumes made a slight positive contribution. The double-digit growth by models in the upper price segment almost entirely compensated the effect from the higher BEV share. Starting with the second quarter of 2023, we began to see increased competition due to better availability of vehicles in the market. This led to a gradual softening of the global price environment for new and used cars, which has continued into the first quarter of 2024. For the full year 2024, we expect the net effect from volume, mix, and pricing to be slightly positive, as planned. We expect additional momentum from models like the new BMW 5 Series, which is currently ramping up in markets across the globe. In China, it launched after the Lunar New Year holiday and has therefore only been in showrooms for a few weeks. Full availability of the BMW 7 Series will also have a positive effect. Moving on, we come to research and development expenses, which were EUR 200 million higher than in the prior year first quarter. Based on group R&D expenditure, the R&D ratio according to the German commercial code came in at 5.4%. Our R&D activities remain focused on the electrification and digitalization of our entire vehicle fleet. We are constantly developing attractive new models like the Neue Klasse or the next generation of the BMW X5. Sales and administrative costs were approximately EUR 100 million higher than the previous year. This is largely due to the IT projects and the increase in personnel costs, which was implemented from the third quarter of 2023. The headwind of EUR 700 million from other cost changes essentially results from two areas. The first is manufacturing costs. Sales margins in the first quarter of 2023 still benefited from a lower level of purchasing prices in 2022. This led to a positive EBIT effect in Q1 2023, as inventories with lower manufacturing costs were sold. Starting in Q2 2023, we saw an elevation in costs that has carried through into Q1 2024. Another reason for the difference in other cost changes is income from the resale of end-of-lease vehicles. As expected, income was lower than the first quarter of 2023, yet remains positive. The normalization we have been seeing in the used car market over the past 12-15 months has gradually continued. Free cash flow in the automotive segment totaled about EUR 1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2024. The difference to the first quarter of 2023 mainly results from the lower EBITDA. Inventory level rose during the first quarter in line with planning. This contributed to the change in working capital, which amounts to EUR 1.2 billion. The increase in stock will ensure that we can service the expected customer demand. The net effect from capital expenditure and depreciation also reduced free cash flow by EUR 200 million. Capital expenditure for January to March totaled around EUR 1.3 billion. This was mainly allocated to new models and structures with a clear focus on electrification and digitalization as well as automated driving systems. The CAPEX ratio for the year to the end of March was 3.6%. Changes in provisions and in the position other, such as tax payments, had no net impact on free cash flow. In the first quarter of 2024, investments totaling EUR 2.3 billion were made into future models and innovations. Nevertheless, the automotive segment generated EUR 1.3 billion in free cash flow. For the full year, the BMW Group is targeting a free cash flow above EUR 6 billion in the automotive segment, despite the planned peak investments in R&D and CAPEX in 2024. The strong underlying free cash flow generation supports our ongoing and consistent shareholder return. As part of the share buyback program, BMW AG has acquired shares equivalent to 5.03% of the share capital in place on March 31st. A second tranche of the second program with a volume of EUR 500 million is currently in progress and will be completed no later than June 28th. Currently, we see no reason not to continue with tranche three immediately after conclusion of tranche two. In the financial services segment, the positive trend in new business from the second half of 2023 continued through the first three months of 2024. The number of new contracts concluded with retail customers increased significantly by 21.5% year-over-year to reach 422,000 contracts. Financing for both new and used vehicles contributed to this growth. In line with this, the volume of new business grew by 22.1% to just over EUR 15.6 billion. Segment earnings for the first quarter amounted to EUR 730 million, a decrease of EUR 250 million from the previous year. This can be attributed both to higher credit risk provisioning and the normalization of income from the resale of lease returns. The credit loss ratio across the entire loan portfolio remained at a low rate of about 2.1%. In the motorcycle segment, first quarter deliveries decreased slightly by 3.1% year-on-year. EBIT for the year to the end of March totaled EUR 106 million with an EBIT margin of 12.2%. Ladies and gentlemen, after a successful first quarter, we expect a solid business performance to continue throughout the year 2024. Therefore, our guidance for key performance indicators remains unchanged. This is based on the assumption that geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions do not deteriorate. Group earnings before tax are projected to decrease slightly. In the automotive segment, we are planning for slight year-on-year sales growth, with the percentage of all-electric vehicles set to increase significantly. We expect to see an EBIT margin of between 8%-10% and a return on capital employed of between 15%-20%. Sales should be slightly higher in the motorcycle segments too. The segments' EBIT margin should come in at between 8%-10%, and return on capital employed should be between 21%-26%. In the financial services segment, we are targeting a return on equity in the range of 14%-17% for the full year. Ladies and gentlemen, the BMW Group combines a robust financial performance in its current business with a long-term perspective for the future. We have a range of highly attractive products in the market, and we are continuously developing new models that will set the standard for driving experience, digitalization, and connectivity. As planned for and previously announced, our research and development spending and our capital expenditure will respectively peak in 2024. We expect our R&D ratio for the full year to be above 5% and the CAPEX ratio above 6%. Our underlying profitability allows us to finance these investments in the future and, at the same time, yield attractive returns to our shareholders. We continue to steer the company in line with our strategic priorities, and we deliver what we promise. Our flexibility allows us to quickly adapt to market fluctuations and to meet customer demand across the globe. This ensures that we capitalize on market developments and deliver strong results through consistent execution. Thank you. Thank you very much, Walter. Now over to the Chairman of the Board, Oliver Zipse, please. Ladies and gentlemen, the figures for the first quarter of 2024 underline once again that our strategy for long-term profitable growth is robust and effective, especially in the dynamic environment in which we operate. These conditions are the same for all players within our industry. However, there are currently three distinct groups of commercial actors, each with their own approach. The first group is the group of the newcomers, the ones who generate a lot of hype with single products. They often have only individual technological highlights such as maximum performance, the largest range, or the largest screens. It remains to be seen whether the overall package will meet high customer expectations, especially in the premium segment, over the entire lifecycle. Additionally, they face the challenge of managing complexity as they scale up and expand. Market entry is also bought with aggressive price positioning. The second group is the group of the established manufacturers who are trying to copy these new players' approach but run the risk of losing their own identity. Finally, the third group is a number of manufacturers who are struggling to keep pace with change and therefore remain entrenched in their traditional business models. In this competitive space, the BMW Group continues to chart its own balanced course and therefore not belonging to any of the mentioned groups. We remain true to ourselves. We analyze and anticipate both current and future trends without prejudging the outcome. From this, we develop our strategic approaches. The ability to respond to market developments, customer needs, and new technological approaches is essential. This has earned us a leading position in e-mobility and, at the same time, allowed us to maintain consistently high profitability even in a volatile environment. For nine quarters in a row, our EBIT margin in the automotive segment has been within our target range of 8%-10% or even higher, like it was in the first quarter of 2023. Walter Mertl already explained the reasons for this. Our development efforts are focused on technologies that deliver real added value for our customers. Decades of market experience have taught us what our customers want throughout the entire customer journey. We use this knowledge and our technological expertise to create the perfect overall concept. This is not easy to replicate nor to copy. The BMW Group is one of the few true global players in the automotive industry. From production to sales to suppliers, we're in a strong position in all major markets, whether that is in the United States of America, in Europe, in China, or in the rest of the world. We have well-established footprints in each region along with a local-for-local mindset. This global approach is our greatest strength. It creates resilience, opens up opportunities, and keeps us flexible. We are building on this to leverage our business success today and in the future. A look at global regions shows that markets and customers' demand continue to develop in a highly diversified way. Maintaining a presence in all major sales markets enables us to balance out these different trends. Our unique BMW approach allows us to respond flexibly to changing demand, especially when it comes to drive technologies. Let me be quite clear: we continue to ramp up e-mobility at a fast pace that our competitors can barely keep up with. Just a few weeks ago, we hit an important milestone. Since the market launch of the BMW i3, we have delivered more than 1 million all-electric vehicles to customers. This confirms the appeal of our fully electric product range. This is also backed up by our current figures in the Chinese BEV market. With growth of more than 18% in China in the first quarter, BMW outperformed both the total market for electric vehicles and the electric premium segment. And this means we're gaining segment share in the world's biggest e-mobility market. However, our success in China is not just evident from the numbers. The BMW Group is held in high regard that we are a local player. I experienced this when I was part of the business delegation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in April. We were also very pleased that Premier Li Qiang took the time to visit the BMW Group stand at Auto China in Beijing. Therefore, we are confident about our long-term economic prospects in China. We are therefore comprehensively preparing our joint ventures, BBA's production site in Shenyang, for future vehicle models. In late April, we signed a memorandum of understanding to this effect in Shenyang for the investment totaling around EUR 2.5 billion. Our highly diversified electric offering across BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce is not just in demand in China but worldwide. With sales up by about 18%, fully electric vehicles once again made an important contribution to the BMW Group sales growth and earnings in the first quarter of 2024. At Auto China, a few weeks ago, we presented two vehicles that will reinforce this trend: the all-new fully electric MINI Aceman and an update to the electric BMW i4. The BMW i4 comes straight from the heart of the BMW brand and is a success story in its own right. People love its combination of eDrive, design, and signature driving dynamics, all the things they associate with the BMW brand. More than 80,000 customers bought a BMW i4 last year, making it one of the best-selling BEVs in the entire premium segment. And MINI is also continuing on a path that is just as brand authentic and modern. The new MINI family is a real game-changer that reimagines the brand's unique British heritage in an entirely new way for the future. The all-electric MINI Aceman brings fresh impulses. With this latest addition, the new MINI family now features three models that serve different segments and appeal to new customer groups. This will enable us to continue and expand the MINI success story in our global markets. Our growth and economic success today are laying a solid foundation for the future. We are investing more than ever in developing new products, efficient technologies, and automated driving functions, as well as in digitalization. As the biggest single investment in the history of the company, the Neue Klasse shows how we are redefining the BMW brand for the future. From design to drivetrains to totally new forms of digital interaction between human and machine, the Neue Klasse represents a massive leap into the future across virtually all fields of technology. All future BMW models will benefit from this regardless of their drive technology. In this way, we are able to ensure that our customers always have the latest technology on board. The Neue Klasse will start out with a sports executive vehicle and a sedan in the current 3 Series segment. We provided a glimpse of what this future will look like for BMW at our recent annual conference. The BMW Vision Neue Klasse and the BMW Vision Neue Klasse X showcase both the consistency and the breadth of the Neue Klasse. There is plenty of room between the two vehicles for innovation and new models, and we intend to use it. Ladies and gentlemen, the BMW Group is growing despite the many different challenges we face. Even in times of change, we deliver positive financial results at a consistently high level. The course we are charting today will enable us to build on this success in the future across all our brands and products with next-generation technologies and within the company. We are in a strong position globally and maintaining our leadership of the global premium segment. We recognize that there are a lot of new players looking to gain a foothold in this highly attractive segment, and of course, we're taking this very seriously. But this is not a one-way street. You can be sure of that. Every player in this industry, whether an ambitious newcomer or an established manufacturer, is also keeping a very close eye on the BMW Group. Thank you. Thank you very much, Oliver. Ladies and gentlemen, we now have a short break before we move on to the Q&A session. We are on time, so we see you in five minutes. Thank you very much. See you. Colleagues, welcome back to the second part of our quarterly conference. We now continue in German after this short break just now. We are now looking forward to taking your questions, as always. You will first be given some technical instructions before we start with the first question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin with our Q&A session. If you'd like to ask a question, please use the raise hand function at the bottom of your screen. If you've dialed in by telephone, please press the asterisk button and 9. You will then be given the opportunity to ask your question. As soon as your name has been called, you can ask your question. In order to withdraw a question, just lower the hand via the function in the Zoom app and, on your telephone, push asterisk and 9. Thank you, and a moment for the first question. Our first question comes from Christina Amann, Reuters. Please turn on your microphone. Hello. All fine. Good morning, Mr. Mertl. Good morning, Mr. Zipse. Good morning, Mr. Schöberl. I have two questions. One is it relates to the product mix. In your press release, it didn't become quite clear to me the first quarter. You're talking about catch-up effects in car sales, especially in the mid-range segment. On the other hand, you're speaking about high demand in the upper segment. Now, which of these were particularly high in demand in the first quarter, and what do you think will demand be in the next quarters? And the second question relates to the margin, 8.8%. This is pretty much in the middle of your target range. However, traditionally, in the first half of the year, BMW usually does better business than in the second half of the year. So money's earned in the first half of the year. So based on this, how do you want to get to 8%-10% towards the end of the year, and may this require additional measures? Thank you, Ms. Amann. We'll begin with the product mix and Oliver Zipse, and then the margin, Walter Mertl. Well, Ms. Amann, good morning to you. Well, the product mix, you need to distinguish between MINI and BMW. BMW, in total, in the first quarter, grew by 4%. MINI decreased slightly, but that was a planned effect because we have a major model change in the MINI products. The Countryman and the Cooper, they've only just ramped up. Now, if you're just looking at BMW, you can see quite interesting effects already. First of all, as far as the segments are concerned, this is the upper market segment, Rolls-Royce, M Performance, M. And these grew by 7%. If you look at well, if you just look at the upper segment in the so-called GKL, that grew by even more than 20%. So we've got pretty solid growth and pretty full order book. Now, on the xEV side, as I've said, if you just look at the BMW brand, we have a growth of more than 40%. And then if you deduct Mini, which is decreasing slightly because of the model change, this will get you to about 25 sorry, 27%. So here, too, we've got pretty robust demand. And as far as those catch-up effects are concerned, we've got a pretty solid order book in the medium market segment, the X models, 3 Series, 4 Series. We talked about the i4. So except for Mini with the model change, we're seeing a very, very robust market momentum, which is pretty strong in relation. And at the end, what this reflects is that even in a difficult environment, we can grow by more than 2.5%. Let's perhaps have a look at the regional distribution. We've got a slight decrease, 4% in total, in China, not with the electric cars. We're growing 18% above market, but in total. And here, we're just adapting to the market situation. But the -4% is overcompensated by pretty strong Europe and also in the U.S. We are growing as planned. The only region where we're currently performing some adjustments are in China, where we've currently got -4%. Thank you so much on the product mix. Q1, now the EBIT margin, Walter. Hello. As I said in my speech, Q1 2023 was not a normal quarter. It was exceptional, like I said. But if we look at the entire year 2022, we can see that we can maneuver pretty well between 8% and 9%. The range is between 8% and 10%. That was our guidance. And this is exactly how we're steering it. Of course, we always have a focus on cost discipline. Anybody would tell you that right now. We just don't talk about it that much. But cost discipline is something that's necessary everywhere. There's increasing competition. We all know this. And accordingly, we are very clear with our guidance of between 8% and 10%. Thank you, Walter. Next question, please. The next question is from Markus Fasse, Handelsblatt. Please turn your microphone on now. Good morning, gentlemen. Our two questions. One is just to Mr. Mertl. It is a little surprising that swing from the first quarter 2023 to the first quarter 2024, the swing in earnings. That's a little unusual for BMW, that you've got 3% swing in your margin. And my question would be, could you explain that in somewhat more detail, also in relation to the costs, which changed so drastically from 2022 to 2023, and then also going back in the other direction? Have you lost the capability of smoothing out these earnings? That's something BMW was characterized by in the past years. And do we have to expect further such peaks in the future, or how can you explain that? That's my first question. Second question, perhaps to Mr. Zipse. It's more of a political nature. We've got elections in Europe this year, and there'll be a new commission, European Commission, with regard to the work of the current commission, which actually focuses very much on the Green Deal. What would be your expectations for the next commission? Because there are a lot of points that also impair your business as far as regulation is concerned. Thank you. We'll begin with Walter Mertl. Hello, Mr. Fasse. Very happy to explain Q1 2023 to you. As I said, it was an absolute peak in Q1 2023 with the 12%. If you look at the individual quarters and read them in sequence, you can see that we're nicely between 8% and 10%. The entire year 2022, we were in that range, and the same in 2023. We would like to emphasize that, of course, our R&D peak in 2024 that we announced, the same as the investment into our IT projects, signify expenses that are above those of the previous year. This is also how we explained it. We have an R&D peak that will be above 5%. It costs money, even if we are efficient and if we have cost discipline. We are now preparing the Neue Klasse, and we're also preparing for new vehicles such as the successor of the X5. The main point, however, is related to two issues. One is the positive effects in manufacturing costs from the year 2022. That was an inventory end of 2022, 2021. We sold that, so we had a positive effect in 2023, even if we were already increased prices there somewhat. That's something we could benefit from in the first quarter. Now, starting in the second quarter last year, inflation began to hit manufacturing costs as well. So at constant price levels, the margin will automatically decrease. And this was then obviously reflected in our manufacturing costs and the EBIT starting in Q2 2023. And I'd also like to get back to periodic residual values or price enforcement. We know that with increasing availability of vehicles, of new vehicles, and this started in the second quarter mainly, the resolving of our residual car supply was not the same as still in Q1, where there were not that many new cars available. That's why last year and this year, in our guidance, we had pointed out that these values would be gradually declining. And that is the second impact. And looking at the reconciliation bridge, you can exactly see I mean, the lower residual values are still positive. They still have a positive effect. But you can see this is where we have the EUR 700 million. Thank you, Walter. The second question was more of a political nature, related to the elections, European Parliament, future, and Green Deal. Good morning, Mr. Fasse. Now, the expectations to the new commission are that they will follow up on the announcements made, that they'll place more emphasis on competitiveness. And this is a direction we generally welcome. The most important thing about being competitive in Europe and Germany is free trade. This is something we have to very clearly underline. Free trade, first of all, contains the internal market and then global trade. And the internal market needs to be strengthened. This is the essential element, the capital market, compared to other economic regions, the U.S., China. That's what's still missing, to be able to act on a high level. This is one point on the political agenda. Now, the world market, you know we're always much in favor of free trade. What we're experiencing today with the anti-subsidy investigations against China is actually the opposite of what we're expecting or what we, if you see that more than half of the Chinese imports from China to Europe are from non-Chinese manufacturers such as German manufacturers, then you just see how quickly this can turn against yourself. I increasingly notice that afterwards, people say, "If only we had known." This is why I'm saying it so clearly. We're really harming ourselves with these very simple protective functions that we want to adopt. Essentially, we would only be harming ourselves. What I expect is that not only on the internal market, but also globally, Europe will play a more important role, that we also consider the mutual interdependencies and not restrict trade in any way. A last word, more specifically to the automotive industry. We've got regulations, CO2 reductions by 2035, -100%. We urgently need to find a new policy where not only emissions of vehicles are considered, but also the fuels themselves. Today, via RED3 regulation, there's hardly any burden. Anything such as e-fuels, which become effective in existing cars and are highly effective in CO2 reductions, are not even included in the regulation. You know what our position is on a so-called ICE ban. This will achieve exactly the opposite of that because the sales of new cars will dramatically decrease, and then existing cars will be more to the force. So here, what is urgently needed is a more fact-based, database review. Hopefully, that will yield better results. Thank you. Next question, please. Our next question is from Lennart Wermke from Automobilwoche. Please turn your microphone on now. Hello to Munich. I have two questions as well. I noticed your competitors were more strongly affected by supply bottlenecks in the first quarter. That's something you didn't address at all this morning. How about the supply chains? Are they stable? Are they no longer an issue, or are you expecting further problems? If there were no problems, what is it you did differently than your competitors? Second question, also in relation to CO2 fleet targets 2035. At the annual accounts press conference, you commented on this already. I'm not quite clear. What exactly is your approach? Could you perhaps elaborate? Let's say once the new commission were to talk to you and ask you for advice of how to do that, what are your ideas about that new regulation? Oliver Zipse on both questions. Good morning. I'm happy to answer both questions. The supply chain, well, these days, is really at the core of our corporate strategy, supply chains from raw materials to assembly in the car itself and then on the recycling side. We want to really look at the entire chain. And there are considerable requirements, and there's considerable efforts that we have initiated to obtain complete transparency about those delivery chains. One topic is Catena-X. This is supposed to be an internet of companies along the entire supply chain where we have full transparency. And it helps us if we do this quite early, if there's any disruptions, disturbances, interruptions of supply chains, if we can learn about these as early as possible in order to then be proactive. Just think of the interruptions we had on the Suez Canal because of the Houthi rebel attacks. If you know this early and if you've got an alternative plan as to how you can circumvent that, then you've already got your measures in place before this happens. And your observation is correct. We truly don't have or we haven't had any serious interruptions of the supply chains. We've had some disturbances, but they're not that severe. And this is related to the fact that apart from our product strategy, this is really at the heart of our corporate strategy. Now, on the fleet targets, there are two demands that we have. And this is not about maintaining a business model. You know that we can do all types of drive systems. We'd even be prepared if only one of these systems was still to be permissible. It's not about our product offer. But what's maximally effective to reduce CO2 emissions? Two demands. First of all, we've got a regime today where only once every five years, the CO2 targets are adjusted. The current regime prescribes that on average, across all manufacturers in 2025, CO2 fleet targets, well, that provide for a reduction of -15%. Then there's nothing for five years, and then it'll be down to -55% in one go, which does not correspond at all to how vehicles develop. No car is developed such that you reduce these by -55%. And then there'll be the ICE ban by 2035, -100%. You can already see this gradual improvement. The principle of continuous progress is actually ignored by this. Our proposal, therefore, is to work with a continuous reduction, let's say, a certain percentage X every year, let's say 5% or 8%. So every year, fleet CO2 emissions of new cars would be decreased by a certain percentage X. And that way, you go into an asymptotic development. And what you can achieve by that is CO2 effects will be achieved much faster than in that gradual approach of once every five years. So we're in favor of continuous improvement rather than just once every five years. So that's the first part of our suggestion. And the second part is let's not just look at cars because, I mean, it's the fuels themselves that are responsible for the emissions. And they're not under any pressure right now. This is absurd because the entire regulation really only focuses on new vehicles but not on all of the existing cars, which are—that's a much larger pool. You can only reach those if you also put requirements on the fuel industry, such as the admixture of e-fuels. It could be E5s, E10s. You all know these. Our cars are able to run on these. You can also add more of these e-fuels. Our cars can take it. So in the entire regime of CO2 reduction, the fuels have to be included. It's in a combination of both fuels plus continuous improvement. The combination of those two, in my opinion, we will be able to much more efficiently achieve CO2 reductions without putting the entire industry in danger because we are in global competition. There's no other region in the world that has such a tight regime where there's four technologies that will be prohibited: diesel, regular ICE, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen. None of these if there's no other region, neither here nor in the U.S., has a regime that will actually harm our competitiveness a great deal. Thank you. The next question, please. Tanja Zwick from Bild am Sonntag. Turn on your microphone, please. Hello. Good morning. I have two questions. One relates, Mr. Zipse, to what you said about customs payments. Have you already received any indications from the commission regarding these extensive questionnaires you filled in? Because the way I see it, customs duties will be calculated individually per company. Any suggestions how high this could be for BMW if it were to come? The second thing, earlier in your speech, you addressed the three groups of car manufacturers or suppliers. And you said BMW actually will go its own way. Now, in connection with the Motor Show in China, there was great attention for Xiaomi, which I would say is the Apple car but in Chinese. Now, entry of this competitor, is that a milestone for you? Does that change anything in the market? Does it change anything for BMW? Oliver Zipse, please. Thanks for your question. We understand that it's not that easy to read the air in this very dynamic environment. But here's our position. Let's begin with market share of Chinese manufacturers today in Germany and Europe. That's below 1%. It is certainly not true that Europe is currently being swamped with Chinese products. So that's my first point. Let's just look at the facts. Second point, what is the reason we can give why is it that we're so successful on the Chinese market? We have good market access. Otherwise, we wouldn't even be represented there. It's the same country where we have access to the market. And by the way, this is now our largest market. And as soon as they begin and we're just at the beginning. As soon as they begin to gain a foothold in Europe, we're getting worried, although they're not even fully here yet. And from a Chinese point of view, this is not comprehensible at all. And we understand that this is not comprehensible. We have very good market access in China. And in the other way around, if all of a sudden, we're trying to close down the borders because we're so afraid, this is not what free trade is about. Second point, I think we can be a little self-confident too. This is why I talked about those three groups. It's not that easy, especially in Europe. It's not that easy to gain customers who are extremely demanding. They want to have spare parts. They want to drive the car for more than three years. They don't want to have any outdated models who, by the way, also want to have a successor model. I mean, if you have a look at those three groups, they all fight with the successor generation after the first launch. You need to look down a little deeper. I think we have a right to be self-confident and don't be so afraid as the European Union currently is. And we're also warning against introducing those customs duties. Can we prevent it? Probably not. But even if they're just introduced temporarily, I mean, maybe they want to introduce them for four months and then remove them again. Well, I can only warn against doing anything like that on a permanent basis. It will harm the German industry much more than the other way around. And you mentioned one new entrant. I mean, there's dozens. And then it's just an announcement. You see, they're not even in the market yet. Why not just wait and see what happens? So let's just be a little more relaxed about this. Thank you. Next question, please. We have a reminder. If you'd like to ask a question, please use the raise hand function. If you've dialed in by telephone, press star one to raise your hand. Once you've been asked to ask your question, then unmute yourself, and you can ask your question. The next question comes from Henning Hintze from Manager Magazin. Please unmute yourself now. Good morning. I have two questions. Mr. Zipse, you spoke about volume adjustments in China. I wondered, it sounds so permanent, a volume adjustment. Is this a more long-term process? Is it a permanent change of objectives, especially seeing that growth in China is only half than it is elsewhere? And is there perhaps a time also to get out of that again? And my second question, just to Mr. Mertl, you spoke about cost discipline, which you also have at BMW. And I wondered, where exactly is that reflected? Is it in salaries, in purchasing, or where do you place your focus in terms of cost discipline? Oliver Zipse, please. Well, good morning. Well, the volume adjustment in China is not of a permanent nature. We're still planning growth over the entire year. It was the 5 Series model change. It was actually planned that we're phasing out the old one, and the new one is just being ramped up right now. So it's nothing that has any structural reasons. And as like I said, we're still planning to grow in that market over there. And on the BEV side, we grew by 18%. So we're not really worried, and it's nothing permanent. Then the second part of the question was that related to cost discipline and where the focus is. Walter Mertl. Hello. The focus is not just on one element, but it's on everything. So manufacturing costs for our products, not just vehicles but also motorcycles are affected, and of course, anything related to fixed costs or invest. And then hygiene is also an important topic as far as traveling events are concerned. It's not just here and there, but actually for many years, always with a slightly different focus, we're continuously reviewing our costs and challenging them. Nothing just because currently, other manufacturers make it explicit to us this is more of a continuous process. And if I can briefly touch on our sales behavior, Autod ata in the U.S. is clearly available. And you can see that we're doing what we're saying we're doing. Available vehicles at the dealers in the U.S., this is increasing everywhere, also here. That's correct. But if you compare BMW with the competitors or with the industry average, then you can see March 2024, available standing days, BMW, 28 days. 48 days is the industry average, and the spread is going up massively. And I am proud of how we are managing this operatively. Thanks to both of you. I hear we have no further questions. Thanks from me for your interest. We would now like to say goodbye and servus from Munich.