Tariffs and weak dollar Down 29 percent - BMW profits plummet
Tariffs, difficult business in China and the weak dollar have caused BMW's profits to plummet in the first half of the year. After taxes, the Munich-based company earned 4 billion euros - 29 percent less than in the same period last year, according to a statement.
31.07.2025, 07:48
31.07.2025, 07:55
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- BMW suffers a massive slump in profits.
- In the first half of the year, the Group earned 29 percent less than a year earlier.
- In addition to the US tariffs, German car manufacturers are currently also suffering from the tough discount war for the Chinese market.
This is already the third decline in a row in the first half of the year. However, BMW is still more stable than the other German automotive groups: VW - like its subsidiary Audi - lost more than a third of its profit in the first half of the year, Mercedes-Benz even more than half.
Group CEO Oliver Zipse saw the BMW half-year figures as proof of "how robust our business model is". The sales figures presented at the beginning of the month had already indicated that BMW could get off a little more lightly than its competitors, as the Munich-based company's sales - unlike Mercedes and Audi - had remained almost stable at a good 1.2 million cars. However, as has now been announced, turnover fell by 8 percent to 67.7 billion euros.
Customs duties also had a significant impact on BMW - not only on exports to the USA, but also on the import of electric minis from China to the EU, on which the Munich-based company pays a 31 percent duty. All in all, the Group assumes that the customs surcharges will cost it 1.25 percentage points of margin in the automotive segment over the course of the year. That would amount to billions.
Customs deal could also have a small positive side for BMW
The Group did not initially provide any information on how expensive the US tariffs were for BMW in the first half of the year. Competitor Audi recently stated that it had suffered around 600 million euros. However, unlike the Ingolstadt-based company, BMW has its own plant in the USA, which produces roughly half of the cars it sells there. A further 200,000 cars go to other countries.
If the tariffs for exporting cars from the USA to Europe are actually reduced from the current 10 percent to zero, as is currently being discussed, BMW would benefit to some extent. However, the effect is far from offsetting the burden of the 15 percent tariff on exports to the USA.
Difficult situation for the industry
In addition to the US tariffs, German car manufacturers are currently also suffering from the tough discount battle for the Chinese market. They are finding it particularly difficult to sell electric cars there. Most of them have already introduced job reduction programs, but BMW has been able to avoid this so far.
BMW is now hoping, among other things, for the New Class, the first production vehicle of which is to be presented at the International Motor Show in September. "With the BMW iX3, we are giving the starting signal for an unprecedented product ramp-up," says Zipse. "By 2027, we will launch more than 40 new and revised models on the market - across all segments and drive types."
