The BMW Group was unable to quite match its forecasts and sales figures from the first half of the year, and the stock market has reacted accordingly (-8.25%). Meanwhile, BMW has now achieved six-figure electric car sales in a total of six quarters.
The group achieved volume growth year-to-date in September across the European and American regions, but the targeted volume growth in China fell below expectations. On this basis, the BMW Group decided to reduce volume expectations for the Chinese market in the fourth quarter.
Furthermore, some of the assumptions on tariff reductions made at the time of its half-year reporting have not been fully realised to date. In this context, the BMW Group continues to maintain the assumption that the EU will implement the agreement with the U.S., reducing tariffs on the import of vehicles and auto parts from 10% to 0% effective August 1st.
Accounting for these additional factors that weigh on profit, the Auto EBIT margin for 2025 is expected to remain within the guided corridor of 5% to 7%, more specifically in the range of 5% to 6%. The full quarterly results and the adjusted outlook report will be published on November 5, 2025, in the BMW Group Quarterly Statement for the period ended September 30, 2025.
Electric sales
The Munich-based company delivered 102,864 fully electric vehicles to customers between July 1 and September 30, according to BMW. Although this is another six-figure result and almost twice as much as its premium competitor Mercedes, it remains 0.6% below the 103,440 BEVs from the third quarter of 2024. The records set in the final quarters of 2023 and 2024, therefore, still stand – perhaps BMW can set a new record in Q4 2025.
In the third quarter, the BMW Group was unable to match the results from the first half of the year. In Q1, there were already 109,516 electric cars, and in Q2, there were even 111,027 BEVs at the Group level.
However, with its strong performance in the first half of the year, the BMW Group remains a solid 10% above the same period last year, with 323,447 electric cars in the current year. In the third quarter, the BMW Group still achieved an electric car quota of 17.5%.
In addition to the 102,864 battery electric cars, there were 48,418 plug-in hybrids. This means that the ratio of BEVs to PHEVs at BMW is around 2:1, while Mercedes sells even more plug-in hybrids than pure electric cars. If plug-in hybrids are added to the sales figures for the current year, the BMW Group had sold 470,313 electrified vehicles (+15.0%) by the end of September.
Hope for the future
“The BMW Group reported a slight sales increase for the year to the end of September. The strong sales performance in Europe and the Americas, as well as for the Mini brand, is particularly encouraging. Demand for our wide range of electrified vehicles also remains strong,” says Jochen Goller, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Customer, Brands and Sales.
However, BMW also states in its announcement (see above) that “the targeted sales increase in the Chinese market did not materialise as expected.” What BMW also didn’t mention in relation to electric car sales is the expected development in the coming quarters.
At the IAA Mobility in early September, the Munich-based company presented the iX3, the first model based on the Neue Klasse. This electric car platform is a strategically relevant step for BMW, as the company has previously focused primarily on multi-energy platforms.
In the future, combustion engines/hybrids and electric cars will increasingly be based on their own platforms. The New Class also introduces several technical enhancements, including the switch to an 800-volt system voltage, cylindrical cells, and new sixth-generation BMW electric motors.
