BMW cuts 2026 automotive margin guidance to between -0.5% and 0.5% from 4% to 6% on 8,000 job cuts
BMW has lowered its 2026 automotive margin outlook to between -0.5% and 0.5%, blaming fourth-quarter restructuring costs, as China deliveries fall 21.8% year to date.
BMW cut its 2026 automotive profit margin guidance to between -0.5% and 0.5%, from 4% to 6% at the start of the year, citing restructuring costs including 8,000 German job cuts.
The carmaker blamed fourth-quarter costs tied to the programme, the Guardian reported, and the new range leaves room for a loss. It is BMW’s second profit warning in a year.
Chief executive Milan Nedeljković said the company would act faster.
“Current developments in our industry call for decisiveness and swift implementation. We will therefore specifically intensify and accelerate structural measures,” Nedeljković said.
BMW also said it planned to cut management functions more quickly under the drive.
Third-quarter pre-tax earnings fell 11% to €2.1bn (£1.75bn), reported on Wednesday. Revenue fell 6% to €30.4bn in the quarter.
The operating margin in the core automotive business narrowed to 3.4% from 5.2% a year earlier. Analysts had forecast 3.1%.
Excluding restructuring charges, BMW said the margin would have been above 2%, within its previous forecast range.
The company is writing off parts of its previous vehicle and technology generations as it launches its new generation of electric vehicles, and it is pricing in the redundancy costs. Volkswagen has made similar restructuring charges.
Mercedes-Benz cut its profit outlook last week, making BMW the latest German carmaker to lower its forecast. Western carmakers have struggled to match lower-cost Chinese rivals, which has cut their sales in China and coincided with a rise in Chinese exports to Europe.
BMW’s China sales fell 22% in the first nine months, which it said was in line with a broader downturn in that market.
Its delivery figures put China sales region deliveries at 114,355 in the third quarter, down 24.8%, and 376,128 year to date, down 21.8%.
BMW Group Automotive deliveries fell 6.3% to 551,072 in the quarter and 4.9% to 1,707,799 over nine months.
Europe moved the other way. Deliveries in the Europe sales region rose 4.5% to 732,279 over nine months, and US sales of BMW and MINI vehicles rose 3.4%.
Fully electric deliveries reached 110,257 worldwide in the third quarter, up 7.2%. In Europe they rose 37.5% to 81,941, or 34.7% of BMW Group deliveries there.
Jochen Goller, board member for customer, brands and sales, said the company had held its own in two regions. “In difficult market conditions, we were able to hold our own in Europe and the US,” Goller said.
China “remains a key focus”, Nedeljković said. The Neue Klasse range, BMW’s new electric-led model generation, begins its China rollout this month with the iX3.
The group made a pre-tax profit of €10.2bn on revenues of €133.5bn in 2025 and had 154,540 employees at 31 December 2025.
BMW said sales of the iX3 have passed 100,000 orders in Europe within a year, and the group’s carmaker restructuring costs fall in the fourth quarter.
