Always build one car less than the customers ask - this is how desirability should be kept high. According to the maxim of the legendary BMW boss Eberhard von Kuenheim, the white and blue car manufacturer is proceeding again these days, but of necessity. Due to a lack of semiconductors, the BMW plants are underutilized. The group benefits from the artificial desirability because now no discounts have to be granted and the profit margin is all the higher. For CEO Oliver Zipse, “confidence and growth” are the buzzwords for 2022. “For me, this is a year in which we should use our strengths and actively shape our future - instead of letting our own abilities be downplayed.” BMW goes with them great confidence in the new year, he says.
Outside of its own industry, too, Zipse is confident. The German economy as a whole should “benefit from an increasingly strong growth spurt,” he says, and ties this to two prerequisites: “We have to internalize the importance of growth for social prosperity. And each and every one of us must act prudently and do our part to prevent the 2022 corona pandemic from spiraling out of control. Because: “The freedom of the individual must always go hand in hand with responsibility for his fellow human beings. This applies to citizens as well as to companies. "
At SAP, one of the largest software providers in the world, the mood is similar. There, too, business is going well in the corona pandemic. And the digitization of large parts of the economy and society should also ensure full order books in the coming quarters. Christian Klein, 41 years old, looks to the coming months with great caution, restraint and confidence. He says: "Sustainability, unstable supply chains or the future of work are topics that our customers are currently concerned with and will continue to be relevant." The Omikron variant shows that the fight against the pandemic has not yet been won. "On a global level, in addition to the victory over the coronavirus, I would like us to resolve political tensions and take decisive action against climate change and social injustices,"says Klein. "The great challenges of our time can only be solved together."
In the middle of the global chip crisis, a change of head at Germany's largest semiconductor manufacturer Infineon is due in the spring. Jochen Hanebeck will take over from Reinhard Ploss, who is retiring. That will not change the course of the Dax group, after all, chip manufacturers cannot produce enough at the moment. “Electrification and digitization are the defining trends of our time. This development will accelerate again in the new year, ”says Ploss. Infineon power semiconductors are used in many industries. The chips can be found in cars, data centers, solar and wind systems and many other areas. It's about protecting the climate and networking the modern world, says Ploss. “2022 will be a year of strong growth and investment for us."About the company from Neubiberg near Munich, Ploss says:" We are more powerful than ever. "Crisis sounds different.