BMW quarterly profit falls as car division faces possible 2026 loss
German carmaker BMW reported an 11% drop in third-quarter pre-tax profit and cut its full-year margin forecast for its core car business. It says it will speed up structural measures, including job cuts.
German carmaker BMW reported an 11% fall in pre-tax profit for the third quarter on Wednesday, 4 November. The announcement came hours after a warning that restructuring costs could leave its core passenger car division near break-even, or even in the red, this year. The results matter because other major German manufacturers face similar pressure.
Financial results
Net profit for the quarter fell about 15% to €1.45bn, while revenue declined almost 6% to €30.45bn. The operating margin of the car division was 3.4%, compared with 5.2% a year earlier.
BMW now expects the car division's full-year operating margin to land between -0.5% and +0.5%, down from an earlier forecast of 1–3%. Tuesday's warning said some of the costs are linked to restructuring, including 8,000 job cuts in Germany, the company's home market.
China and other markets
BMW chief executive Milan Nedeljkovic said current developments in the industry demand decisiveness and swift implementation, so the company will specifically intensify and accelerate structural measures.
Like its rivals Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, BMW is cutting jobs to lower costs. Cheaper and more technologically advanced Chinese competitors have largely pushed German brands out of China and are now increasing exports to Europe.
BMW's deliveries in China, already at their lowest level since 2017 last year, fell a further 24.8% in the quarter. This pulled global deliveries down by 6.3%. In Europe deliveries rose 2.6%, and in the US they rose 2.5%.
The group also includes Mini and Rolls-Royce. It has promised to move more of the supply chain for its China-sold vehicles into China to win back market share. At around 11:00 CET on Wednesday, BMW shares were up 2% from Tuesday's close.
