BMW Group’s half-year financial results are in—and while profits are down, they’re not down nearly as much as some expected. After Mercedes posted a staggering 55.8% drop and Audi came in with a 37.5% decline, a sharp downturn for BMW seemed inevitable. Instead, the company reported a profit of €4.015 billion for the first half of 2025, a 29% drop compared to last year.
It’s still a significant decline, but one that looks less severe in context. The company’s EBIT margin for its automotive business landed at 6.2%, comfortably within its target range of 5.0 to 7.0 percent. That margin suggests the business is still fundamentally sound despite the broader economic slowdown.
Sales Remain Steady
BMW’s global vehicle sales barely moved year-over-year. The company delivered 1,207,594 cars across its BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce brands—down just 0.5%. That kind of stability stands out at a time when many automakers are seeing steeper drops. Rolls-Royce increased deliveries by nearly 10% in the second quarter, driven by strong sales from the Cullinan Series II.
There’s a shift happening in the regional breakdown, though. China, still BMW’s largest single market, saw sales fall by 15.5% in the first half. That decline dragged down the entire Asia-Pacific region by 11.1%. In contrast, Europe rebounded with an 8.2% increase, overtaking Asia for the top regional spot with nearly 500,000 vehicles sold. North America also moved upward, with a 3.4% increase.
Top-Selling Models
As usual, the 3 Series and 4 Series carried much of the weight, with 245,252 units sold worldwide. That’s down nearly 10% from last year, but it was still enough to keep them at the top of BMW’s internal leaderboard. Behind them were the X1 and X2 compact crossovers, followed by the 5 Series and mid-size SUVs like the X3 and X4.
EV Growth Driven by MINI
Electric vehicle sales were mixed. BMW brand BEVs dropped by 2.3%, but strong MINI numbers pushed overall BEV growth for the group to 15.7%. Plug-in hybrids were up even more—25.5% compared to the first half of 2024.
Taken together, electrified vehicles (both BEVs and PHEVs) made up 26.4% of total sales. Fully electric cars accounted for 18.3% of the group’s production in the first half of the year.
Outlook
BMW hasn’t changed its full-year forecast despite the profit decline and ongoing pressure in the Chinese market. The company believes its overall position is strong enough to ride out the second half without any major course corrections. That said, with tariffs, economic uncertainty, and EV competition all in play, the second half won’t be easy.