BMW sees itself on track with its goals. On average, the order backlog lasted well into the first quarter, and demand for top models and electric cars is unbroken.
In the past quarter, the Munich-based company increased its revenue by 3.4 percent to 38.5 billion euros. The profit margin in the car business, which is important for BMW, improved to 9.8 percent from 8.9 percent in the same period last year. BMW boss Oliver Zipse (59) said the company was clearly on track for the annual targets raised in August. The Munich-based company is aiming for a margin of between nine and 10.5 percent for the year as a whole.
This means that BMW is coping better with the increasingly difficult industry situation than rivals like Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, which had to make cuts to its profit plans after the third quarter.
Car manufacturer facing price cuts
However, Zipse admitted that prices will be adjusted in some markets. BMW cannot escape market developments, he said. Especially in China There is currently a price war raging for electric cars, especially in the affordable entry-level segment. However, it is not BMW’s strategy to secure market share with lower prices, said Zipse.
At the moment, however, BMW can still sell its higher-priced vehicles and electric cars well. For the current year, the Munich-based company is aiming for a 15 percent share of electric cars in total deliveries – this threshold was reached in the third quarter. The Munich-based company expects additional boost from the new 5 Series, which has just come onto the market.
The increased interest rates had an impact on profits, and the valuation of interest rate hedging transactions weighed on the financial result. Before taxes, BMW earned almost 4.1 billion euros in the premium segment, 0.9 percent less than a year ago. Since the beginning of the year, pre-tax profit has also fallen by a good third to 13.41 billion euros. This is primarily due to a one-off effect: in 2022, the complete takeover of the China business drove up profits significantly.
The numbers were recorded on the stock market with price gains: BMW shares rose by up to 3 percent.