The German carmaker reported earnings below the previous year’s level but confirmed its financial targets for this year, and said it expects some of the US trade tariff increases to be temporary.
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BMW Group reported a major drop in its earnings for the first quarter of the year, partially driven by lower demand in China.
The group also reported significantly rising EV sales and confirmed its 2025 financial guidance, citing expectations that overall demand is going to rise in many markets this year.
BMW Group’s net profit dropped by 26.4% to €2.17bn in the first three months of 2025 compared to the previous year.
The automotive segment’s margin was 6.9%, close to the top end of the current guidance and better than expected by analysts.
Group revenues dropped by 7.8% to €33.75bn, mainly due to weak consumer demand and low price levels in China. This was partially offset by solid growth in Europe (+6.2%) and the Americas (+5.3%).
In total, the group delivered a total of 586,117 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles to customers between January and March, which was slightly less than in the previous year.
More than a quarter of the delivered vehicles were electrified (26.9%), and the number of fully-electric vehicles delivered increased by 32.4% year-on-year.
BMW Group confirmed full-year guidance
Expecting an increase in demand for premium vehicles, the BMW Group confirmed its guidance for the year, while its rivals, including Mercedes-Benz and Ford have pulled their 2025 forecasts, largely due to the uncertainty stemming from the US trade tariffs.
The BMW Group already announced in mid-March that it expects a €1bn hit to earnings from trade tariffs. Now, they added that “the Group expects some of the tariff increases to be temporary, with reductions from July 2025.”
BMW Group said in its quarterly report that it “anticipates slight sales growth, with fully-electric vehicles contributing to a slightly higher share of deliveries.” The group earnings before tax are expected to be on a par with the previous year and the EBIT margin for the Automotive Segment is forecast to be within the range of 5.0-7.0%.
However, the report said that “geopolitical developments and trade tensions have now become persistent sources of risk,” which could lead to potential supply chain disruptions.
The better-than-expected results with a confident outlook boosted the group’s share price, which was up by more than 3% at 11am CEST in Germany.
