BMW's China Sales Tumble 30% as €53k i3 and Humanoid Robots Aim to Steer Recovery
Published on 07/13/2026 at 05:12 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The Munich-based carmaker’s second-quarter results painted a starkly divided picture: a near-total reliance on Western markets to offset what has become a full-blown crisis in China. Global passenger-vehicle deliveries fell 5% in the three months to June, dragged down by a 30.2% plunge in the People’s Republic. The drop, which BMW attributed to intensifying competition and shifting demand in the world’s largest auto market, prompted a profit warning earlier this year and now leaves the stock trading just 2.14% above its 52-week low of €57.06, reached on June 30.
Yet beneath the headline slump, pockets of strength emerged. In the United States, sales rose by just over 4%, outpacing the broader market. Europe delivered an even more robust performance, with deliveries climbing 5.4%. Fully electric vehicles were a particular bright spot: BMW and Mini together sold 116,807 battery-powered units in the quarter, a year-on-year increase of 5.2%. The company said the EV growth in Europe was significantly stronger than the group average, underscoring the continent’s accelerating shift toward electrification.
The luxury segment, however, did not escape the downturn. Rolls-Royce saw its sales slide 11.5% to 1,252 vehicles – a modest absolute number but one that dents margins in the high-end portfolio. By comparison, BMW fared better than its German rivals: Mercedes-Benz reported a 6% drop to 511,900 vehicles, while Audi’s deliveries fell by more than 8% to 367,139.
At the Frankfurt bourse, the stock closed at €58.28, nearly flat on the day. The shares have fallen roughly 3.9% over the past week and 13.8% over the past month. Since the start of the year they have lost 39.24%, wiping out nearly €23 billion in market capitalisation, which now stands at €35.38 billion. The Relative Strength Index of 31.1 signals an oversold condition, while 30-day annualised volatility runs at 31.44%. The decline from December’s 52-week high of €97.90 amounts to 40.47%.
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“Despite global challenges, we were able to increase our sales in the US and Europe,” said Jochen Goller, BMW’s head of sales, in a statement. The group is pinning its hopes on a wave of new models. The upcoming iX3, built on the “Neue Klasse” platform, has already attracted roughly 100,000 pre-orders. For China, BMW is developing a long-wheelbase version with a range exceeding 900 kilometres under the CLTC cycle, with advance sales beginning at the Chengdu Auto Show in August 2026.
At the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the company unveiled the i3 First Edition, a battery-electric version of the 3 Series sedan. Prices start at ÂŁ53,005 for the standard model, while the i3 50 xDrive variant comes in at ÂŁ57,905. Orders opened in mid-June, and deliveries are expected to begin this autumn. Series production at the Munich plant is scheduled to start in August.
On the factory floor, BMW is betting on automation rather than the drastic cost-cutting seen at some competitors. At its Spartanburg plant in South Carolina, the carmaker has deployed Figure 03, a humanoid robot equipped with tactile sensors and palm-mounted cameras. The robot boasts a 60% wider field of view, double the frame rate, and 75% lower latency than its predecessor, Figure 02, which supported the production of more than 30,000 X3 units in ten months. The move comes as Volkswagen wrestles with plans for plant closures and a potential halving of its model range – a contrast that highlights BMW’s preference for technology-led efficiency gains.
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The next-generation M3 will pursue a dual powertrain strategy. The electric version, codenamed ZA0, is expected in 2027 with four motors, an 800-volt architecture, a battery pack of more than 100 kilowatt-hours, and output approaching 1,000 horsepower. A petrol variant, codenamed G84, will follow around 2028, featuring a revised inline-six cylinder with hybrid assistance. Both are projected to carry similar price tags, and a new chassis control system dubbed “Heart of Joy” will replace the conventional limited-slip differential.
Whether these initiatives can pull the stock away from its nadir depends overwhelmingly on how quickly Chinese demand recovers and whether the broader headwinds facing Germany’s auto industry – from trade tensions to geopolitical jitters over rising oil prices – begin to ease. For now, BMW is pushing ahead with investment, betting that electrification and automation will provide the lift that current market sentiment cannot.
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