BMW’s Profits Tumbled, Its EV Sales Cratered, But It’s Acting Like Nothing’s Wrong

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CorrectCombination11@reddit

Actually good part at the end: saved you a click.

One of the reasons Zipse feels confident about the short-term future is that BMW’s operating margins didn’t suffer quite as much as it had braced for. The core automotive operating margin dropped from 6.9 percent to 5.0 percent, which is a stiff 27.5 percent fall, but analysts had been planning for an even weaker number, so the result gave the market some confidence. And although BMW’s Group’s total sales fell 3.5 percent to 565,780, VW’s dropped 4 percent and Mercedes registrations fell 6 percent in the same period.

Another reason to feel upbeat is the new product now filtering through. The new electric iX3 is heavily oversubscribed in markets where it’s already available – half of all X3 sales are now electric – and it’s going to get another boost soon when dealers start taking orders in the US for Carolina-built versions. We’ve also already seen the i3 electric 3-Series, that goes into production this fall showcasing the same Neue Klasse design and tech, and promising over 550 miles (885 km) of WLTP range.

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StinkySoggyUnderwear@reddit

“Oversubscribed” - I do not like that word in any way, shape, or form

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CorrectCombination11@reddit

I'm in financial services, and we use that term for when an IPO is too hot.

Too many people's wants and not enough supply.

I feel like it's an accurate use of the term.

Anything can be oversubscribed. Even novelty popcorn buckets.

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Salt-Plankton436@reddit

I knew I'd heard that word before lol. Many times when lifestyle stocks are trying to flush their newly issued confetti into the market...

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faustianBM@reddit

So I'll tell my niece: "The Labubu Doll you wanted is oversubscribed."

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CorrectCombination11@reddit

"Some people have more money, and they get what they want."

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strongmanass@reddit

They're just obliquely referring to the played out heated seats thing.

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Dragonasaur@reddit

no subscriptions please

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b00c@reddit

In this context it does not mean you'll have to pay monthly for AC to function.

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Fit-Tooth-1101@reddit

The context of how it’s being used here makes perfect sense.

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Neat-Economist2099@reddit

That design is the problem

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Alfa155Q4@reddit

Weird, I see BMW EV’s literally everywhere in Europe. Is it because of the China drop?

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CorrectCombination11@reddit

Mostly demand drop from markets with larger land mass. 250-300 stated range is actually 200 to 240 due to charging to 80% for day-to-day and even less during winters.

Which I'm fine with, because I charge where I sleep, and my commute is 20 miles a day, maybe I go out with friends after work and that adds another 10 miles. People tell me I'm in the minority so, who knows.

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Oskarikali@reddit

The average American driver does 37 miles per day. 60% of trips are less than 6 miles.

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CorrectCombination11@reddit

Most people aren't rational. Anything less than 300 miles at full feels like a compromise and crippling of the American individual's freedom.

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avoidhugeships@reddit

It is perfectly rational not to pay more for a car that cannot handle all your needs well. People take trips and that is still a hassle with EVs.

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alexp8771@reddit

Yeah if I got money for an 80k car I got money for gas, and gas is significantly less hassle than an EV in the US.

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makken@reddit

I used to be this way 10ish years ago. Was waiting for (at the time) the 350+ mile highway range EV to come along so I could do my weekly 297 mile roundtrip drive to our satellite office without stressing over whether I would make it, plus having a comfortable buffer if I needed to make a detour.

Nowadays I do that trip in my 250 mile EPA range EV without a sweat.

What changed was the confidence in the charging network. 10 years ago, I had 1, maybe 2 DC fast charging spots along that route, and half the time it wasn't working.

Today, I have L2 charging at the satellite office, and, at last count, at least 16 different fast charging options along the route, all of which I'm confident would be working, or if not, the next one is close enough that I can make it there without issue.

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AwesomeBantha@reddit

Guilty as charged. I can get 300-400 miles of range in my gas guzzler on the highway, but I typically go on a few multi-day roadtrips every year and hate stopping at the gas station 3x a day, so I got an auxiliary tank that doubles my range.

Super nice to fill up once in the morning and then not have to worry about running out unless I’m doing 650+ miles.

Does it make financial sense? No, but it’s more convenient, and if I’m using up PTO days to drive my car, I don’t want it to annoy me.

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Gods_ShadowMTG@reddit

well ix3 has 425 miles of range

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superspeck@reddit

Yeah, but BMW’s products (or at least our CPO iX) does over 300 miles already on an 80% charge. It’s our preferred road trip vehicle for vacations.

I think what you’re actually saying is people are idiots who can’t read

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CorrectCombination11@reddit

Some people operate on feelings only.

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AlpineE39Adventures@reddit

This is more a question regarding Li-ion batteries in general and not specifically relating to EVs, but isn’t limiting charge to 80% unnecessary if you’re going to be using a bunch of that energy soon after charging?

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xarune@reddit

It's not so much using it soon, more that it's okay to do infrequently. So if you are going on a long drive the next day: sure, top it off to 100%. It's just best for long term battery health to generally aim for 80% when charging.

The problem is more for day-to-day use if someone isn't charging at home or at work, then the 80% range is more realistic for what they will need to plan around when using public chargers. Additionally, if using a fast charger one tends to see far worse rates of charging over 80% so that also factors in.

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projektako@reddit

Yes, pretty much every non Chinese automaker is getting killed in China. It makes sense and if they do sell, they're putting a bunch of money into it, cutting profit severely just to fulfill their obligations to their Chinese partners.
There's very little incentive for the typical Chinese buyer to consider anything other than a domestic EV.

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janck1000@reddit

I thought the iX3 is sold out, so they seek to expand its production to additional plant. So i guess they are not doing so badly. But there are different news every day.

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Nefilim314@reddit

Any news about EVs is basically “sales have CRATERED, no one wants them, they are going to landfills!” regardless of any material information about them.

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turb0_encapsulator@reddit

In Europe EV market share rose to over 20% in Q1 2026 from 13.2% a year earlier. EV doom and gloom is mostly either about America, or about how it's hard for western companies to compete with China. The latter is definitely a real issue for a company like BMW though.

While the iX3 and forthcoming i3 are at the top of the class among Western vehicles, there are Chinese EVs that are cheaper and have better stats. I recently watched a video of a BYD Denza charge to 95% in 8 minutes, and it was in Europe, not China. It's basically as fast as filling with gas. BYD and CATL have solved the thermal throttling problem, as the west has not.

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strongmanass@reddit

i4, i5, iX, i7 are all old products with increasingly dated technical specs compared to new EVs and are all about to be replaced with improvements within a year. Sales CRATERED I tell you!

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JC-Dude@reddit

They literally mention the iX3 having a large order backlog in the article.

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puskunk@reddit

Every single minute, an x5 rolls off the assembly line making $12000 profit for bmw. They'll be fine.

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m1a2c2kali@reddit

A company with actual long term vision? wild.

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V8-Turbo-Hybrid@reddit

I know many people may not believe that, but we really see these many legacy automakers really doing their EV efforts.

Of corse, America basically abandons EV expedition, but it doesn’t really stop their EV transformation.

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m1a2c2kali@reddit

Except there have been a bunch of companies who have reversed course recently on their ev transformations, not just American companies either

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GreatOdinsRaven_@reddit

Ugly overpriced low quality cars. They have lost the plot

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BMWbill@reddit

Yet they are doing way better than Audi or Mercedes and demand for their new EV is off the charts

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bestmaokaina@reddit

That doesnt change the fact that the build quality is pretty bad compared to what they used to offer

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GreatOdinsRaven_@reddit

That this is down voted is a joke. Kias have nicer interiors these days. They are selling 4 cylinder 70k cars with pleather and a comically oversized grill.

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Fit-Tooth-1101@reddit

Parroting some bs as usual

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BMWbill@reddit

I think their build quality is leaps and bounds better than any other car except Porsche

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magnament@reddit

goochie!

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costafilh0@reddit

It's inevitable.

EVs are not profitable except for Tesla, and even they are struggling at the moment with way lower margins.

The business case never made sense for EVs for traditional manufacturers.

And now with Chinese EVs flooding the global markets, nobody has a chance without heavy tariffs.

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costafilh0@reddit

another one bites the dust

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costafilh0@reddit

surprised Pikachu face

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Real_Establishment56@reddit

Might be N=1 but I’ve never seen so many BMW EVs as nowadays (in NW Europe at least)

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element515@reddit

I feel like BMW is doing a transition to EV way better than other traditional companies. They are making it just seem like a normal progression and the ix3 looks really good as a car.

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EarthOk2418@reddit

The i4, which looks nearly identical to the 4-series gran coupe, has also been a good seller and took back a lot of Tesla early adopters who wanted an EV 5-door that was more fun and better equipped.

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DaBanninator@reddit

Almost bought a i4 when we were looking to replace our model 3 with something bigger only to realize the i4 interior is very cramped compared to Tesla model 3.

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EarthOk2418@reddit

That’s largely due to the fact that the platform also serves as the basis for ICE powered variants of the 4-series, and design philosophy (cockpit vs. minimalist) amplifies the differences.

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sioux612@reddit

Also the i5 which looks very very close to the M5

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wimpires@reddit

BMW went in properly with EV 10+ years ago with the i3, they had A LOT of learning there which directly went into CLAR - which is a sort of stop-gap - but also Neue Klasse. The i3 did a lot of things better back in 2014 than, say, MEB when it came out.

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JournalistExpress292@reddit

MEB did too, it’s just everything else around their powertrain that they’re trash at. We see it in their ICE cars (C63 vs M3 - which is more popular?).

They are doing good with their GLC and GLE which they haven’t ruined.

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bschmidt25@reddit

I think the importance of the i3 gets overlooked a lot. You're right - it taught them a lot, which put them years ahead of their competitors on the EV front, especially in the US.

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purz@reddit

That’s just your bad taste opinion. That beaver robot ass car is ugly as sin.

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julienjj@reddit

"good" ok buddy 😅

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Gods_ShadowMTG@reddit

BMW actually most reliable EV brand, surprisingly

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FartusMagutic@reddit

Same in Cali

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MaraudingWalrus@reddit

I'm in a fancy neighborhood in Orlando, and see a ton of electric BMWs. Lots of electric 4 series, zillions of the iX, and even a good number of the 7. Anecdotally, I'd guess I see more of those than any brands EVs except Tesla. A lot of rivians, too, obviously.

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FartusMagutic@reddit

Yeah you summed it up.

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qb4ever@reddit

n = 1, capital N denotes population size.

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Real_Establishment56@reddit

Thanks!

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3ke3@reddit

The iX3 should do significant numbers now as well... 800km+ range

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JC-Dude@reddit

Their EV sales in Europe are way up, the global number is probably dragged down by the US and China.

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Gods_ShadowMTG@reddit

25% tariffs btw

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eggs_and_ham_i_am@reddit

I guess less people want shitty car feature subscriptions than they thought.

Who'd have guessed....

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L-Malvo@reddit

Are you just parroting, or have you had first hand experience with all these subscriptions?

Because we own 2 electric BMW's and none have weird subscriptions, other than connectivity services, which is somewhat justifiable IMHO.

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julienjj@reddit

all 2024+ bmw have adaptive suspension subscription available if you didn't spec it from the factory.
of course the adaptive shocks are installed as standard😅😅

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L-Malvo@reddit

Mine is a 2024, doesn't have such sub

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strongmanass@reddit

Literally any time someone brings it up they're referring to the heated seat payment plan idea that BMW scrapped.

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Super-Lingonberry-22@reddit

Such a stupid and misleading article.

BMW is in the middle of a huge transition to Neue Klasse products, which were leaked few years in advance. Of course people will not be buying as many new cars near end of production cycle when something way better is on the horizon.

This is probably the biggest change in BMW's direction of new cars they ever went through in terms of investment, factory adjustments and direction of their brand.

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TheReaperSovereign@reddit

BMWs global sales are down largely because of China. The rise of Chinese domestic have basically caused all global brands to suffer in that market

BMW is enjoy multiple record years in a row in EU and NA. Their western customers are buying the cars up left and right.

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bschmidt25@reddit

The simple fact is that they're better positioned than a lot of their contemporaries. They have a lot of new cars coming out in the next year or two, including bread and butter models like the X5 and 3 series, that will offer a choice of gas, PHEV, and EV. The iX3 is probably going to be a huge success for them. Meanwhile Audi is flailing about and Mercedes seems to still be struggling on product mix. The EQ line has been a disaster for them.

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