BMW Calls in a Turnaround Veteran as Its China Sales Free Fall and Margin Narrows to 1%
Published on 07/16/2026 at 22:23 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The automotive giant BMW is staring down a deepening crisis in its most vital market. Deliveries in China crashed 20.4 per cent in the first half of 2026, with the second quarter alone seeing a 30 per cent slide according to multiple reports. That hemorrhage dragged global sales down 4.2 per cent to roughly 1.15 million vehicles for the half, despite respectable gains elsewhere.
Western markets tell a different story. European registrations rose 5.4 per cent in the first six months, while US sales climbed 3.9 per cent and accelerated to a 13.0 per cent jump in the second quarter. The Mini brand also chipped in with an 11.7 per cent gain over the same period. The electrification branch is arguably the brightest spot: BMW delivered 116,807 battery-electric vehicles worldwide in Q2, up 5.2 per cent year-on-year, with European BEV volumes surging 38.0 per cent to 81,445 units. In Germany, the electric share of new BMW registrations hit a record 24.41 per cent for the half, peaking at 29.5 per cent in June.
Yet the strength away from Shanghai cannot offset the damage. In June, BMW slashed its operating margin forecast for the automotive division to just 1.0 per cent, a stark signal of the profit squeeze. Global second-quarter deliveries fell 4.9 per cent versus a year earlier, driven overwhelmingly by Chinese weakness. Into this volatile landscape, the supervisory board has brought in an outsider to handle the human side of the restructuring.
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Dorothea von Boxberg, currently CEO of Lufthansa subsidiary Brussels Airlines, will take over as personnel chief and labour director on 1 September. She succeeds Ilka Horstmeier, who stepped down by mutual agreement. von Boxberg previously ran Lufthansa Cargo as chair and CFO, giving her hands-on experience in two turnaround situations. Supervisory board chairman Nicolas Peter cited her “external perspective” and track record in transformation, while CEO Milan Nedeljkovi? said her arrival offers a chance to adapt structures to shifting market conditions.
The stock market greeted the hire with a shrug. Shares edged up 0.14 per cent to €58.86, leaving the year-to-date loss at 38.6 per cent. The 52-week low of €56.72, first touched on 15 July and revisited this week, is barely more than 3 per cent below the current price. Meanwhile, the stock trades roughly 13 per cent under its 50-day moving average of €67.41, underlining that the downtrend has yet to break.
Unlike Volkswagen, which has announced more aggressive job cuts, BMW has so far avoided compulsory redundancies. But intensive negotiations over workforce structure are underway, and von Boxberg’s experience in high-pressure restructurings will be tested as she balances cost discipline with the need to preserve innovation during the shift to electric mobility. The new iX3, a centrepiece of the “Neue Klasse” platform with nearly 100,000 global pre-orders, is expected to provide a medium-term sales boost — though whether that can plug the China gap remains uncertain.
For now, BMW must rely on its momentum in Europe, the US and EVs to counteract the Chinese downdraft. The incoming personnel chief has a mandate to steer the workforce through a transformation that is as much about protecting margins as it is about electrification. Her first results will be measured not only in the margin recovery, but in the outcome of the labour talks that will define how the company rights itself.
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