What Saved BMW Group in the Second Quarter of 2025? Scarce Relatives

The BMW brand is about to release its new Neue Klasse lineup, whose models will both look and perform better than anything the German automaker offers today. Judging by the latest information, this transition is just around the corner. In the meantime, the BMW M division, MINI, and Rolls-Royce—three of the four brands within the BMW Group (besides BMW itself), showed sales growth in the second quarter, against the backdrop of the decline of the main brand.

The total number of BMW Group vehicles sold from April to June rose by 0.4% to 621,300 units. Meanwhile, sales of the BMW brand itself fell by 2.6% to 550,700 units. The so-called peripheral brands, including BMW M with a growth of 7.8% (55,400 cars), the tiny MINIs—with a 33.1% increase (69,200), and the pompous Rolls-Royce with its 1,415 "wardrobes," which is 9.4% more than in the second quarter of last year, saved the group.

The "black sheep" was the Motorrad motorcycle division, whose sales fell by 8%, totaling 61,309 motorcycles. The only bright spot for the core brand is electric vehicles, which added 15.7% in the first half and 2.9% in the second quarter.

As for geography, like competing brands—Porsche and Mercedes, BMW's Chinese market does not look brilliant, although not as bad as its rivals. In the second quarter, deliveries to China decreased by 13.7% to 166,700 vehicles, which is not particularly impressive, but Mercedes is even worse—down 19%, and Porsche—a shocking minus 28%. In other regions, things are better. The group's European numbers rose by 10.1% to 255,900 cars, and American figures increased by 1.4%, reaching 98,500 units.