According to BILD, BMW began the financial year with a markedly lower quarterly result: first‑quarter profit stood at €1.67 billion, about 23 percent below the year‑earlier figure.
The report says revenues fell 8.1 percent to €31 billion. Global vehicle deliveries decreased to 565,780 units, a drop of 3.5 percent. China was singled out as especially weak, while demand in Europe remained stable and even rose significantly in the first three months of the year.
New tariffs, especially from the United States, are cited as a burden. These tariffs noticeably hit results and margins; they had not been significant in the prior year. Experts also pointed to rising costs and geopolitical pressure as reasons for the weaker earnings. Beatrix Keim of the Center Automotive Research is quoted in the report saying a trade conflict between the US and China would affect BMW particularly hard. At the same time, she noted, operating performance in many markets is being run more stably than the profit drop might suggest.
Against this backdrop, Walter Mertl told the outlet that the company will monitor costs more closely. The report says no concrete large‑scale cost‑cutting programmes are planned; however, various levers within the group are being adjusted.
In sector comparison, BMW remains relatively solid: competitors’ profits in the reporting period were lower—€1.43 billion at Mercedes and €1.56 billion at Volkswagen. Commercial vehicle maker Daimler Truck saw a considerably larger profit fall.
The report also recalls that Oliver Zipse will step down in mid‑May; his successor is said to be production board member Milan Nedeljkovic. The leadership change comes amid an ongoing challenging environment with weakness in China, geopolitical tensions and new trade barriers.
Source: BILD
