BMW Group’s latest business update presents a split picture for electric mobility: battery-electric vehicle demand strengthened sharply in Europe during the second quarter, while a severe downturn in China weighed on the group’s wider results. The company reported the figures in its 30 July 2026 results announcement, which also confirmed its full-year guidance and outlined further efficiency measures.
The clearest positive signal came from Europe. BMW said it delivered 81,500 fully electric vehicles in the region during the second quarter, a 37.9% increase from the same period a year earlier. Fully electric models represented 31.3% of regional deliveries in the quarter, compared with 24.4% in the second quarter of 2025. The figures include BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles delivered through the group’s European sales region.
BMW linked the European performance to the continuing launch of its Neue Klasse products. The BMW iX3, the first model in that generation, entered the market in early March. The company said the model was on track to reach 100,000 orders since its sales launch, while the second Neue Klasse model, the BMW i3, attracted strong demand after early ordering opened for its Launch Edition in June. Those are company-reported order figures, not independent registration data, and they do not yet establish how many vehicles will ultimately be delivered.
Across the group, BMW delivered 116,807 fully electric vehicles in the second quarter, up 5.2% year on year. For the first six months of 2026, however, fully electric deliveries totalled 204,295 vehicles, down 7.4% from the same period in 2025. Fully electric vehicles accounted for 19.8% of second-quarter group deliveries. The mixed result shows why regional performance matters: strong European momentum did not fully offset weaker volumes elsewhere.
China remains the main pressure point
BMW’s overall first-half deliveries fell 4.2% to 1,156,727 vehicles. Europe grew 5.4% and the United States grew 3.9%, but deliveries in China fell to 261,773 vehicles, down 20.4% from the first half of 2025. The decline accelerated in the second quarter, when China deliveries dropped 30.2% year on year to 117,815 vehicles.
The company attributed the difficult operating environment to the negative market development in China, intensifying competition in the Asia-Pacific region and wider geopolitical pressures. BMW’s results therefore describe more than a technology transition. They show an automaker trying to expand electric sales while managing regional demand shocks, changing regulations and the cost of launching a new vehicle architecture.
The financial impact was substantial. BMW reported second-quarter group earnings before tax of €1.697 billion, down 35.1% year on year, while first-half earnings before tax reached €4.045 billion, down 29.4%. The automotive segment’s second-quarter EBIT margin was 2.3%. BMW also reported lower first-half revenue, reduced research and development spending and lower capital expenditure compared with the same period in 2025.
Efficiency measures accompany the product push
BMW said it had reached an agreement with its Works Council on a workforce restructuring programme that includes voluntary severance packages. The company also said it was accelerating cost and complexity reductions after achieving €2.5 billion in savings during the previous year. These measures are presented as a response to tougher competition and a more demanding operating environment, rather than as a change to the Neue Klasse launch plan.
For 2026, BMW confirmed guidance for a slight decline in automotive deliveries and an automotive EBIT margin between 1% and 3%. It also expects a significant decrease in group earnings before tax. These are BMW’s own forward-looking targets, not an independent forecast, and the company cautioned that actual performance could differ because of political and macroeconomic conditions.
The latest figures leave a measured conclusion. BMW’s European BEV growth suggests that its new electric models are gaining traction in a major market, while the group’s China decline shows that product momentum cannot be separated from regional competition and economic conditions. The results do not prove that Neue Klasse has solved BMW’s broader profitability challenge, but they do provide a verifiable snapshot of where the electric transition is currently working best—and where pressure remains highest.