Recently, European car manufacturers continue to face pressure and erosion in the Chinese market by local mainland car manufacturers. Following Porsche, BMW Group’s global sales in the second quarter stagnated due to the drag from the Chinese market, with sales plummeting especially in China.
According to Bloomberg, on Thursday, July 10, German car manufacturer BMW Group stated that BMW car global sales increased by 0.4% year-on-year, reaching 621,271 vehicles. Over the past three months ending in late June, sales of BMW and Mini brands increased in Europe and the United States, but decreased by 14% in China.
BMW’s performance is in line with its German automotive counterparts, as these German car manufacturers are gradually losing market share in China to local manufacturers like BYD. Mercedes-Benz Group saw a 19% decline in sales in China in the second quarter, and Volkswagen’s electric car sales in China also dropped by nearly one-third.
In the first half of 2025, Porsche’s sales in the Chinese market fell by 28%, leading to a global decline in Porsche’s total sales. However, Porsche stated that driven by increased product supply in the market and the price protection it offered against higher import tariffs, sales in the United States surged by 10% to 43,577 vehicles, making the U.S. the most valuable market for Porsche, far ahead of other countries.
Global sales of BMW’s Mini brand grew by 33% to 69,163 vehicles, with a 10% increase in sales of hybrid and pure electric vehicle models.
Despite President Trump imposing a 25% tariff on imported cars, BMW and Mini brand cars saw a 1.4% increase in sales in the United States in the second quarter, while Mini models produced in the UK benefited from a 10% lower tariff.
Metzler Equities analyst Pal Skirta told Reuters that the growth of BMW in the U.S. market this quarter is a resilience signal. In contrast, Mercedes-Benz earlier announced a 14% drop in sales in its North American automotive division in the second quarter.
German car manufacturers are working towards reaching an agreement with President Trump to replace the high 25% tariffs levied on imported cars and automotive parts. BMW and Mercedes-Benz will benefit the most from this deal as both companies have large factories in the U.S.
The analyst also pointed out that “the Mini brand showed strong performance, achieving growth in all regions.”