00:00BMW is unveiling its new 7 Series at Grand Central, showcasing its most advanced technology yet.
00:07Matt Miller is there in person and joins us now with the CEO of BMW North America. Hey, Matt.
00:15Yeah, I'm in my comfortable place here in the car world, but also at Grand Central Station,
00:20which is majestic here with Sebastian Mackinson, the head of BMW North America.
00:25Sebastian, welcome, or maybe I should say thank you for welcoming me here.
00:31Why choose Grand Central Terminal for this? It's a global debut, right?
00:35Right, it is. I mean, we were looking for the right location to show our flagship car, the new 7
00:42Series,
00:43and we didn't want to have any location, but Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Station,
00:48such an iconic space in this fantastic city.
00:51It is an unmistakable design, but it also stands the test of time,
00:56and I think that's very fitting to the 7 Series for BMW.
00:59So, I'm test driving currently a previous generation 7 Series, it's stickered at 200 grand.
01:07What kind of margins are you making on these cars?
01:09You know, that's part of our financial calculations, which is not something we talk about in the public space.
01:16But we develop the cars with a lot of investment and with a lot of dedication and professionalism and passion,
01:24and then we sell them at the right price in the market.
01:27So, what's the difference between this new car, what have you changed versus the previous generation,
01:34and what are the powertrain choices?
01:36Yes, so one thing is definitely the external looks.
01:40I think we have cleaned up the front quite a bit.
01:42You have one line of front lights. Before, there were two lines.
01:46It has become cleaner, and I think it makes an unbelievable entrance.
01:50So, this is not a car you sneak in unnoticed.
01:53You have a grand entrance when you come to this car, and if it's at nighttime with a light design,
01:58that's even more.
01:59We also have replaced chrome.
02:01LED is the new chrome.
02:03In this car, you see the kidney light layout.
02:06We also have a new light design on the back.
02:08Now, in the interior, we have a lot of things which we developed, which we call the Neuer Klasse.
02:13A lot of those digital elements, UI, UX interface, customer interface, they all make it now into other BMW models.
02:21And the first one where this happens is actually the 7 Series.
02:25Now, you talked about drivetrains.
02:27We will have two options on the internal combustion engine, a six-cylinder and a V8.
02:33We will have two options on the pure electric vehicle, both being 100% electric drivetrain.
02:39And we have also a plug-in hybrid vehicle when you want to go half the way.
02:44Drive electric, but also have a gasoline.
02:47What are your customers choosing?
02:48I mean, I imagine for a luxury vehicle like this, a lot of people want the V8, right?
02:55On the other hand, as gas prices climb, I would also imagine that more people are starting to go back
03:01to electric after the backlash and the loss of the subsidy that we saw last year.
03:05Yeah, we see, I mean, obviously the geography of the preferences are a bit different in the geography of the
03:11United States.
03:12But in general, we saw last year about a quarter of our 7 Series customers opting for a fully electric
03:18car.
03:18I happened to drive that vehicle for one year.
03:21And I have to say the luxuriousness and the luxury driving experience in a 7 Series is even enhanced more
03:28when it is purely electric, no vibrations.
03:31You're in your own space.
03:34It is a great, great thing to experience.
03:36But obviously, we are known, I mean, Bavarian Motor Works, we are Bavarian Motor Works, we are known for our
03:43engines, and people love our V8 engine.
03:45And that's why we give the customers a choice.
03:49We call it technology openness.
03:50You can go this way or that way, but one thing is true, it's always the 7 Series, not a
03:55compromised vehicle.
03:56We hear the same thing from Rolls-Royce, which is, of course, a brand that you own as well.
04:00People that want the ultimate luxury often choose the Spectre.
04:05Now they have the Nightingale, you know, if they want to spend $3,000, $4,000, $5 million.
04:09How much customization can you do on your higher-end cars?
04:14Because, you know, right now, the name of the game is customization.
04:18The customer who drops $200,000, $300,000, $400,000 wants to be able to choose the exact color, choose
04:24the exact interior, and make different combinations.
04:26I mean, just to make sure, we are starting here just around $100,000, so you don't have to go
04:32that high, as you just mentioned, if you want to drive a 7 Series.
04:36But that part aside, just to call out some numbers, you have 500 different possibilities for vehicle color.
04:45You can change a lot of interior trims, materials, and colors, which mathematically makes up to 700 different combinations.
04:53And you can also, in the BMW individual world, you can come with your own wishes, and we can match
05:01a color.
05:02If you have, like, your color, which is obviously then a special service, but we can make that color and
05:08put it on your car.
05:09Sebastian, I've got to pin you down on the electric vehicle question, because since the war in Iran started, we've
05:14seen gas prices soar.
05:16Not just here, but around the world, and although EV sales had dropped substantially after the end of the tax
05:23credit, at least online,
05:26I've seen more and more people brag about having gotten an EV and having a low monthly bill.
05:33What are you seeing in terms of EV sales?
05:35I would say you see in the online, what we see in the online, what customers do in the online
05:39world, we see a slight uptick in interest on our electric products.
05:45But for the time being, I wouldn't call it a drastic change.
05:49So I understand the chatter in the marketplace, in the public space, and we see that as well.
05:55But it didn't yet, and maybe it will not, materialize on the customer preference.
06:01So our sales, we do sell electric vehicles, but the majority of sales is combustion engine vehicles.
06:07Is the war affecting at all sales of these high-end vehicles?
06:10Because I look at something like this, and I think a shake could be driving this through, you know, the
06:14Emirates.
06:15Are you seeing any drops there?
06:17I mean, we have always impact of the overall economic situation, and different markets react different to that.
06:25And I'm not familiar with the exact impact on the local sales.
06:30But as you can imagine, if you have uncertainty, which is always impacting the economy, that is not necessarily helpful
06:36for your vehicle sales.
06:38I know the United States, North America is your territory, right?
06:41But this car has got to be a hit in China.
06:44They love their big limousines, their large luxury sedans.
06:50How has the 7 Series been doing in China, and what do you expect from this new vehicle?
06:54It has been doing very well, and our expectation is that with this version, that will continue to be the
07:00case.
07:00Or probably we have an opportunity there to also expand our market position.
07:05It is definitely a car which is very well received in China.
07:09But I have to say, our designers did a fantastic job with this car.
07:13It really has a global appeal.
07:15It has this special thing about itself.
07:19It is the 7 Series, and people expect something from that.
07:22I mean, behind you, it's not on camera right now, I'm sorry, but it's the first ever generation of the
07:277 Series.
07:28I remember it well.
07:28And that is something which has been built, and now it's its own legacy.
07:32And now with this car, with this new front, I think that's a 7.
07:37And it's a 7 in China, in the Middle East, in Europe, and in the United States and South America.
07:42And I know, I mean, you're number one in terms of big luxury car sales in China.
07:47But, of course, they're coming after you.
07:50They've got competition hot on your heels.
07:53Are you more comfortable in a market like the United States, where China is held firmly out of the market?
07:59I wouldn't talk about comfort level.
08:03I mean, I have, as you say, I'm responsible for the business in the U.S. and in the Americas
08:07region.
08:07Some of the markets, we have new competitors in the market space or new entries from China and South America
08:14mainly, maybe now a little bit in Canada.
08:17I mean, you always have competition in the market.
08:21That's what keeps you on your toes and makes you think about how you can do things better.
08:26So competition as such is not really a new thing.
08:30So there's one competitor more or 10 competitors more.
08:33That's what we have to deal with, and every market is a little bit different.
08:36All right, Sebastian, thank you so much for inviting us down here to Grand Central Terminal, showing us the global
08:41debut of your new 7 Series.
08:43Sebastian Mackensen runs the North American business for BMW.
08:47Danny?
08:47Matt, it's great to see you in your element.
08:49And, you know, I've got to ask, are you going to be driving the car for the pod?
08:52Are you going to get behind the wheel?
08:56I'm definitely going to.
08:57I mean, like I said, I'm driving right now the previous generation, which is, I thought it might be the
09:03new one.
09:03It's just as luxurious as I can imagine any automobile being.
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