BMW chooses its glitzy new showroom here in Munich as the venue for the company’s annual press conference. The world’s biggest premium carmaker sold a record 1.5 million vehicles last year. [-----1-----].

But BMW’s chief executive told me he still worried about the US market.
“We had a challenge in the United States, I am honest. But if I see other markets around the world we could compensate for the losses in the United States. What could effect (affect) the whole car industry is a slowdown of the car market in the United States in the year 2008. And what we expect at the moment is…let me say…15.2 or 15.3 million (CEO报错了数字) cars in the United States and it’s less compared to the year 2007.”

“But you don’t think it’s going to be a real recession and you’re optimistic.”
“I mean first of all if you see our customers. We are premium car manufacturer, and from time to time it really helps. [-----2-----] Will it affect us, the BMW Group as well? We don't know, it is dependent （it depends on) how deep the crisis will be.”

[-----3-----]
"Our major potential (of cost cutting) is production material. We are talking about a figure of 26 billion (euros) annual costs because of production material. That means if you see our value chain, about 20% or 25% of our value chain is principally generated in the BMW Group. That means the costs, about 75% to 80%, is out of the BMW Group. That means our supplier network. And what we have to do, of course, we have to have discussions with our supplier network about prices."

[-----4-----] There is a bad atmosphere this man says. Jobs are being axed in almost all departments. You feel the pressure. With BMW cutting jobs, he says, everyone is affected.

[-----5-----]

Tristana Moore, BBC News Munich.

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