by Victoria Waldersee

Berlin (Reuters) – BMW estimates that the impact of customs duties, imposed by the United States but also the European Union on electric vehicles manufactured in China, could reach a billion euros this year, said its chairman of the board, Oliver Zipse on Friday.

The German car manufacturer therefore anticipates a profit margin for the cars segment between 5 and 7% in 2025, after 6.3% in 2024 and while analysts were tabling on 7.3%.

Oliver Zipse said this estimate was “conservative”, additional customs duties that can still be imposed by the European Union and the United States.

The group’s leaders nevertheless expect that part of the customs duties in place, including those of 25% on steel and aluminum and on imports from BMW vehicles from Mexico to the United States, be raised before the end of the year, he nuanced.

“If the situation changes, our forecasts will also change,” added the financial director of the Walter Mertl group.

The German car manufacturer is directly impacted by the intensification of the trade war between the United States and the European Union, the American president having promised to increase prices on imports of cars from Europe from April 2 and Europe having promised to retaliate while trying to call Donald Trump to dialogue.

About 56% of BMW vehicles made in Germany are exported outside the EU, and its factory in the American state of South Carolina exports cars to the tune of more than $ 10 billion (more than 9.2 billion euros), making the group the largest exporter of the United States in terms of value, according to Oliver Zipse.

Drop in net profit

The German group reported on Friday of a net profit in falling more than a third in 2024 to 7.68 billion euros, in accordance with expectations, a result impacted by low sales in China and Germany and delivery delays linked to braking systems problems.

In the fourth quarter, BMW’s net profit accused a fall of 41%, the manufacturer having warned in January that the increase in fixed costs would have an impact on its income in the last three months of the year.

The group also proposed a distribution ratio of 36.7%, one of the highest ever recorded, consisting in particular in a dividend of 4.32 euros per preferential share for 2024, however lower compared to the 6.02 euros paid for the previous year.

(Written by Victoria Waldersee, Etienne Breban and Pauline Foret, edited by Kate Entringer)

Copyright © 2025 Thomson Reuters