Overview
- BMW cut its 2026 automotive operating margin guidance to a range of -0.5% to +0.5%, a move that leaves open the possibility the car division will report an operating loss.
- The group blamed the downgrade on faster-than-expected redundancy measures that will trigger larger fourth-quarter severance charges and on portfolio charges from phasing out some Gen5 models.
- Third-quarter results reported the next day showed pre-tax profit around €2.1 billion and an automotive operating margin of about 3.4%, while worldwide deliveries fell about 6.3% and China sales plunged roughly 24–25%.
- BMW held its automotive free cash flow target above €2.5 billion and said that, excluding the one-off restructuring and portfolio costs, the underlying car business should earn a margin above 2%.
- The company will speed up management and workforce reductions originally tied to an ~8,000-role programme, a step that could shorten dealer inventories of older models and increase near-term charges for the wider German auto sector facing China competition.