The BMW Group made more than €2 billion in pre-tax profit in the third quarter of 2026, but it has lowered its full-year margin forecast for the car business. The reason is a larger and faster set of portfolio and structural measures. The Munich company says strong demand for its Neue Klasse models lets it retire older vehicle and battery generations sooner than planned.

A solid quarter, but a weaker outlook

The BMW Group reported Group earnings before tax (EBT) of €2,083 million for the third quarter of 2026. That is 10.6% lower than a year earlier. Over the first nine months, EBT came to €6,128 million, down 23.9%. The Group EBT margin was 6.8% for the quarter and 6.6% for the year to date.

In the Automotive segment, the EBIT margin was 3.4% in the third quarter and 3.5% for the first nine months. Segment EBIT for the quarter fell 39.7% to €901 million. BMW says a settlement of legal proceedings over the Integrated Braking System helped this figure.

The Board of Management has now decided to expand and intensify its portfolio and structural measures. These will cost money in the fourth quarter, and the company calls this a non-operational effect. BMW now expects a reported Automotive EBIT margin of between -0.5% and +0.5% for 2026, down from its earlier forecast of 1–3%. Before restructuring costs, it still expects an operating margin above 2.0%. It also still expects Automotive free cash flow above €2.5 billion.

Older models to go sooner

According to BMW, the portfolio changes come from sustained strong demand for the Neue Klasse. The company added production shifts early to meet that demand. Because production is now ramping up faster, BMW says it can start phasing out earlier vehicle and technology generations sooner, including selected models that use Gen5 battery technology. It has not said which models are affected.

Neue Klasse technology, including Gen6, is already used in the BMW iX3, i3, i7, iX4 and iX5. The company says it will spread to many more models in the coming months, and it expects the Neue Klasse to be a major driver of better profitability over the next few years.

On the organisational side, BMW plans to cut management roles faster than it originally announced. It also plans to make wider use of AI agents in areas such as customer offers and procurement planning.

“Current developments in our industry call for decisiveness and swift implementation. We will therefore specifically intensify and accelerate structural measures,” said Milan Nedeljković, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG.

Chief Financial Officer Walter Mertl added: “Speed is a key success factor in our planned realignment. That is why we are intensifying measures to enhance efficiency and streamline structures already this year. In doing so, we intend to strengthen our future margins and be on course to deliver our profitability targets.”

Growth in Europe and the US, decline in China

The group delivered 551,075 vehicles in the third quarter, down 6.3%. Nine-month deliveries totalled 1,707,802 (-4.9%). Europe grew 2.6% in the quarter and the US grew 2.5%, but this only partly made up for weaker sales in China. There, BMW Group sales fell by a quarter year on year, which the company says matched the decline of the overall market.

By brand, BMW delivered 479,294 cars in the quarter (-6.8%), MINI 70,712 (-2.4%) and Rolls-Royce 1,069 (-18.0%). Motorcycle deliveries fell 12.5% to 46,605.

Fully electric cars made up 20% of group sales in the quarter. Including plug-in hybrids, the share was 27.4%. In Europe, 46.9% of deliveries were electrified, and 34.7% were fully electric. For China, the company is preparing to launch the iX3 LWB in November, with more Neue Klasse models to follow during 2027.

What it means

BMW is accepting a weak reported margin this year so it can move to its new platform faster. Its full-year guidance includes about 2.5 percentage points of margin impact from the restructuring measures, about 1.25 points from higher import tariffs and 1.2 points from depreciation and amortisation of BBA assets. The company expects full-year car deliveries to be moderately below 2025.

Facts: BMW Group Q3 2026

  • Group revenues: €30,452 million (-5.8%)
  • Group EBT: €2,083 million (-10.6%)
  • Group EBT margin: 6.8%
  • Automotive EBIT margin: 3.4%
  • Net profit: €1,448 million (-14.7%)
  • Deliveries: 551,075 (-6.3%)
  • BEV share of sales: 20% (incl. PHEV: 27.4%)
  • 2026 Automotive EBIT margin outlook: -0.5% to +0.5% (previously 1–3%)
  • 2026 Automotive free cash flow outlook: above €2.5 billion

The iX3 LWB goes on sale in China in November.

Source: newsroom.bmwgroup.com