We still tend to underestimate the importance of the Chinese market for legacy luxury brands. Our analysis of the final 2024 sales figures highlights why BMW must get back in shape in the world’s largest car market. Despite a drop in deliveries from 826,300 to 715,200 (-13%) last year, China remained BMW’s top region by volume. It had a 29.2% share in BMW Group’s total deliveries last year, falling from 32.3% compared to 2023.
What caused the decline? BMW cites two key factors. First, consumers are becoming increasingly hesitant to splurge on more expensive vehicles from upper-class segments. Second, deliveries of certain models were halted due to issues with the integrated braking system (IBS). The problem affected 1.5 million cars worldwide, including 320,000 units that had yet to be delivered.
“One of the reasons for this was the continued slowdown in consumer spending on vehicles in higher price segments, which did not improve noticeably despite government support measures. Sales were also affected in the reporting year by vehicle delivery stops linked to the supplied IBS.”
BMW is a veritable powerhouse in China, where it employs approximately 27,330 people. The automaker builds the 2 Series, 3 Series, i3, X1, and iX1 at its Tiexi plant, while the X3, iX3, 5 Series, and X5 are assembled at the Dadong facility. Both plants are located in districts of Shenyang.
In 2024, Dadong produced 343,973 vehicles, making it BMW’s second-most productive plant worldwide, trailing only Spartanburg. Tiexi ranked fifth, with 284,045 units. Notably, around 85% of the cars built in China are sold locally.
Through its joint venture with Great Wall Motor, BMW produces the electric MINI Cooper and Aceman in China. The EV duo is assembled by the Spotlight Automotive JV at a new factory in Zhangjiagang, where 67,561 cars were made last year. There had been plans to build the two MINI EVs in Oxford from 2026 but UK production has been delayed indefinitely.
Some models are exclusively made in China, such as the fully electric i3 sedan. It’s based on the locally produced long-wheelbase 3 Series, one of several BMWs sold there with an elongated wheelbase. In the past, only sedans received the LWB treatment, but the X1, X3, and X5 have also been stretched. In the future, there will be Neue Klasse models specific to the Chinese market, designed locally at the Designworks Shanghai studio.
Source: BMW
