BMW Says Coronavirus Has Impacted Sales In China, Doesn't Change 2020 Sales Targets

KEY POINTS

BMW Chief Executive Oliver Zipse spoke about the impact coronavirus has had on sales during a conference call with reporters
Zipse said travel bans and increased screening for coronavirus won't impact production or shipments
Zipse's comments come one day after BMW told 150 employees to self-quarantine after one worker in Munich had been diagnosed

BMW said Tuesday that while the coronavirus has impacted its sales in China, it doesn’t expect the virus to impact its global sales target for 2020.

In a conference call Tuesday, BMW Chief Executive Oliver Zipse spoke about the company’s 2020 sales goals and the impact of the coronavirus. He said that while the virus has disrupted sales in China, it was also too early to change current 2020 targets.

“We see no impact outside China,” Zipse said. “We’re sticking to our target of achieving slight growth in car sales.”

He said internal forecasts had the slowdown lasting through March.

“We only have short-term visibility,” Zipse said. “Supplies have been secured for the next three weeks.”

Zipse also assured that the responses from the U.S., Europe, and China to the coronavirus haven’t impacted BMW supply chains. Factories are set to continue production on schedule and travel bans aren’t expected to bottleneck shipments.

Zipse’s comments come after BMW reportedly told 150 employees at a factory in Munich to stay home in self-quarantine for 14 days. This was after one employee reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday and was hospitalized for treatment. The 150 employees sent home reportedly worked with him in the research and development center at the Munich factory.

BMW confirmed the unnamed employee hadn’t traveled overseas and possibly exposed more workers to the coronavirus. The company said the factory will operate as normal while it continues to undergo expanded cleaning and disinfecting to reduce the chance of exposure.