BMW’s China Sales Plunge 30% but EV Momentum and iX3 Pre-orders Offer Hope

BMW delivered a record 116,807 battery-electric vehicles in the second quarter of 2026, a 5.2 percent increase from a year earlier, yet the broader delivery picture tells a more complicated story. Western markets surged, but China — a profit engine for decades — suffered a 30.2 percent sales collapse, dragging global volumes down 4.9 percent to 590,962 units. The divergence has become the defining challenge for the Munich-based automaker.

The China slump deepened through the first half. BMW and Mini together handed over 261,773 vehicles in the region, a 20.4 percent decline from the same period in 2025. The second quarter alone accounted for 117,815 of those, a stark reversal from the growth rates seen just a year earlier. BMW is hardly alone in this fight. Mercedes-Benz reported a 30 percent drop in Chinese deliveries for the quarter, while Volkswagen’s fell an even sharper 36.6 percent, as local rivals flood the market with aggressively priced models and rapidly refreshed line-ups — a phenomenon some analysts have labeled “China Shock 2.0.” Still, pockets of strength persist: the BMW 3 Series has retained its status as the best-selling model in its segment for 20 consecutive months, and M-Series sales climbed 8.9 percent in the first half.

The picture across the Atlantic and in Europe could hardly be more different. European deliveries rose 5.4 percent in the second quarter to 260,173 vehicles, with Germany alone up 9.4 percent. The United States posted a 13 percent gain to 102,713 BMW-brand cars, contributing to a first-half increase of 3.9 percent. Electric vehicles were a particular bright spot in Europe, where pure-electric BMW models surged 38 percent to 81,445 units. Globally, the Mini brand advanced 17 percent to 81,035 cars, though US Mini sales slipped 2.1 percent to 7,456.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying BMW?

The stock market has taken a grim view of the geographic imbalance. Shares closed at €58.28 on Friday, down 0.17 percent on the day and within 2.1 percent of the 52-week low of €57.06 set in late June. On the week the stock lost 3.9 percent, and over the past month it has shed 13.8 percent. Year to date, BMW equity has slumped 39.2 percent, and the 12-month decline stands at 31.5 percent. The share price remains well below its 50-day moving average of €69.12 and its 200-day average of €82.03. The relative-strength index of 31.1 points to an oversold condition, while market capitalisation has shrunk to €35.38 billion.

Management is betting heavily on the new iX3 to claw back ground in China. The company disclosed that pre-orders for the iX3 are closing in on 100,000 units, and it plans to build on that traction by launching a long-wheelbase version at the Chengdu Auto Show in August 2026. The extended model, tested successfully in May, is claimed to achieve a real-world range of more than 800 kilometres — a key selling point as BMW uses its “Neue Klasse” platform to signal technological leadership.

Production milestones and factory automation also feature in the strategic push. The seven-millionth vehicle rolled off the line at BMW’s Shenyang plant in China. Meanwhile, the automaker is testing the humanoid robot “Figure 03” at its Spartanburg, South Carolina, plant and the “AEON” robot at its Leipzig facility, both aimed at long-term efficiency gains.

August’s pre-order numbers for the iX3 Long Wheelbase will provide the first concrete test of whether BMW’s new-platform bet can reverse the China slide. For now, the company is walking a tightrope between electric momentum in the West and a deepening crisis in its largest single market.

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