With over 40 new or updated models that come onto the market by the end of 2027, the next few years will be among the most busy in the history of BMW. This fast product introduction follows the largest investment that the company has ever made. More than 10 billion euros have flowed into the “New Class” program in recent years.
BMW is now ready to harvest the fruits of this tremendous undertaking, but admits that not everything runs smoothly. In conversation with Automobile news EuropeA manager admitted that external factors continue to affect the company’s profitability. The most important thing is the ongoing customs dispute between Europe and the United States, which is still very important.
Jochen Goller, board member for customers, brands and sales, said: “The two biggest effects on profitability are currently China and the global tariffs.” He confirmed BMW’s wish for “zero-töllen”, so that every progress in the direction of this goal would be a step in the right direction.
China also proves to be challenging. There, the demand dropped by 13 % to 715,200 units last year, while China’s total share of 32.3 % dropped to 29.2 % in 2024 in 2023. The downward trend continues in 2025, whereby sales decreased by a further 15.5 % to 318,125 vehicles in the first half of the year. Nevertheless, China remains the largest single market for BMW.
Goller added that “the expansion of BEVS should not be a challenge for our profitability”. This makes sense when you consider that large investments in batteries, electric motors, iDrive X and Panoramic Vision have already been made. Despite these costs at the beginning of the decade, BMW still managed to remain profitable.
In the same interview, Goller expressed his optimism with regard to BMW’s ability to attract more buyers of electric vehicles in the USA, even if demand cooled down. And even if the models of the new class do not attract attention to everyone, the brand can still fall back on a diverse range of vehicles with an incinerator. In the first three quarters of the year, almost 20 % of all BMWs sold in the USA were either plug-in hybrid or fully electric.
Source: Automotive News Europe
