Both companies posted a drop in sales, which they have attributed to slowing demand in China
German automakers Mercedes and BMW are the latest brands to share their quarterly sales figures for the three months to the end of September 2024 and things aren’t looking good. Both companies posted a drop in sales, which they have attributed to slowing demand in China, reports Reuters.
BMW reported that sales were down by 13 percent between July and the end of September 2024, while Mercedes-Benz reported a three percent drop during the same period. The two companies linked the drop to struggles in Asia, with Chinese automakers posing stiff competition for overseas manufacturers, as Reuters reports:
Demand in China, the world’s biggest auto market, is suffering from a flagging economy, while foreign carmakers face stiff competition from local manufacturers offering cheaper models, especially EVs.
BMW’s sales in China slumped by a third while Mercedes’ fell by 13%.
Mercedes also noted a subdued global battery electric vehicle (BEV) market, reporting a 31% BEV sales drop. For BMW, BEV sales rose 10% in the quarter.
As a result of the slower sales for the two automakers, both BMW and Mercedes have cut their forecasts for the year. Both attributed the drop in annual targets to struggles in China, while BMW also reported that issues with braking supplier Continental were also impacting its output.
The drop in sales at BMW and Mercedes followed similar struggles reported across the world’s automakers. Nissan saw its sales drop more than five percent and Tesla $TSLA missed its quarterly delivery targets during Q3 of the year.
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