BMW cut its 2026 automotive margin guidance to 1% to 3% from a prior 8% to 10% band, admitting it cannot compete with Chinese EV makers on cost. Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen are running the same playbook: localize, cut jobs, retreat.
BMW confirmed a compact Neue Klasse EV for 2028 as new CEO Milan Nedeljkovic told investors the auto unit will not return to its long-term 8–10% margin band until the early 2030s. Source
BMW told investors this week to expect an automotive operating margin of 1% to 3% in 2026, a level the group has not touched outside a genuine crisis in over a decade. The old target band was 8% to 10%. New chief executive Milan Nedeljkovic now says BMW gets back there only at "the start of the next decade." Investors, oddly, liked it: shares rose almost 3% on the 30 September capital markets day, the classic market reaction to bad news that finally comes with a floor under it, after a year in which the stock had already shed more than a third of its value.
