BMW Slashes Profit Forecast and Taps Brussels Airlines CEO to Steer HR Through China Slump
Published on 07/17/2026 at 02:42 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
BMW is grappling with a double shock: a steep downgrade to its profit outlook and a leadership shake-up in the midst of sagging Chinese demand. The Munich-based automaker now expects its EBIT margin for the automotive segment to land between 1 and 3 percent in 2026, slashing the prior guidance of 4 to 6 percent. The warning, issued on June 16, has left shareholders nursing heavy losses — the stock has shed 38.64 percent since the start of the year and trades just 3.7 percent above its 52-week low of €56.72, a level touched as recently as July 15.
The margin squeeze stems directly from plunging sales in China, long BMW’s most profitable market. In the first half of 2026, the group delivered only 261,773 vehicles in the country, a decline of 20.4 percent year on year. That dragged global deliveries down 4.2 percent to 1.16 million cars, even as Europe posted a 5.4 percent gain and the U.S. rose 3.9 percent. The core BMW brand saw a 6.2 percent drop to just over 1 million units, while MINI bucked the trend with an 11.7 percent increase to 149,538 vehicles. Rolls-Royce, however, slipped 9.8 percent. In the second quarter alone, group deliveries fell 4.9 percent compared with the same period last year, underscoring the speed of the deterioration.
In response to the operational headwinds, the board is bringing in fresh talent. On July 16, the supervisory board appointed Dorothea von Boxberg as the new head of human resources and labor director, effective September 1. She joins from Brussels Airlines, a Lufthansa subsidiary where she served as CEO, having previously been chairwoman and CFO at Lufthansa Cargo. Von Boxberg replaces Ilka Horstmeier, who stepped down by mutual agreement. Supervisory board chairman Nicolas Peter cited her “outside perspective” and experience in transformation, while CEO Milan Nedeljkovi? said she would help adapt structures and working methods to the changed market environment. Von Boxberg’s background includes navigating two turnarounds within the Lufthansa group — precisely the kind of restructuring know-how BMW may need as it balances cost-cutting with heavy investment in electrification.
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So far, Munich has avoided the kind of outright job cuts seen at Volkswagen, but it is holding intensive talks over the future shape of the workforce. How those negotiations evolve will be a key test for the incoming personnel chief.
BMW has also made structural changes to its capital structure, completing the conversion of all preference shares into ordinary voting shares at the end of June under a “One Share, One Vote” principle, a move meant to simplify shareholder rights. In the U.S., the company wrapped up a €1.7 billion investment program at its Spartanburg plant, where it also unveiled the new X5 model, reaffirming its commitment to North America as a growth driver despite the China slump.
On the product front, the electric iX3, the first SUV built on BMW’s “Neue Klasse” platform, has attracted nearly 100,000 pre-orders globally, offering a potential boost if those reservations turn into deliveries. Analyst house RBC Capital rated the stock “Sector Perform” on July 10, signaling caution given the uncertain earnings outlook. Investors will get a clearer picture when BMW releases its full half-year results on July 30, along with an analyst conference call. The data will reveal how deeply the margin cut cuts into actual profit — and whether gains in Europe and the U.S. can offset the deepening hole in China.
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