BMW is growing in Europe as its big Neue Klasse EV bet starts to pay off
While rivals struggle, BMW quietly finds its feet
It has been a grim week of car-industry headlines, from Porsche's slump to VW's brutal restructuring plans, so here is something a little more hopeful. BMW's numbers for the first half of 2026 are down overall, but dig into them and a genuinely encouraging story emerges: Europe is growing, electric sales are bouncing back, and BMW's huge Neue Klasse gamble is starting to look very smart indeed.
Down overall, but for one big reason
The topline is a modest decline: BMW Group delivered around 1.15 million vehicles in the first half of 2026, down 4.2%, with the core BMW brand off 6.2%. But almost all of that pain comes from a single market. Sales in China fell 20.4%, a steep drop that mirrors the struggles other European premium brands are having there. Strip China out and the picture is far healthier.
Europe and the US are growing
This is where BMW stands out from the recent gloom. Deliveries in Europe rose 5.4%, the US grew 3.9%, and its home market of Germany jumped 10.2%. For a premium maker to be posting solid growth across Europe right now, while so many rivals are sliding, is genuinely impressive and speaks to strong demand for BMW's latest models on this side of the world.
The EV rebound is real
The electric numbers tell the most interesting story. While first-half BEV deliveries were down 7.4% overall, the second quarter saw a clear turnaround, with global electric sales up 5.2% and European BEV sales surging 38%. In Germany, BMW ranked second in EV registrations for the quarter. After a wobbly period for electric demand across the industry, that is exactly the momentum BMW wanted to see.
Neue Klasse is doing its job
Behind that EV bounce is the Neue Klasse, BMW's new family of electric cars that it has bet its future on. The freshly launched iX3 is already approaching 100,000 orders, and the smaller i3 saloon has seen strong demand since its order books opened. Sales chief Jochen Goller said the Neue Klasse continues to show strong momentum in major markets. Elsewhere in the group, MINI is on a roll, up 11.7% for a sixth consecutive quarter of growth, though Rolls-Royce slipped 9.8%.
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After a run of bleak stories about the state of the European car industry, this is a refreshing dose of optimism, and a reminder that the picture is not uniformly bad. BMW is proof that a legacy maker can still grow at home, sell more EVs and get its electric transition right, even as it takes a hit in China like everyone else. The contrast with Porsche's tougher first half is striking.
The really encouraging part is that the Neue Klasse is delivering results this early. If the iX3, which recently aced its Euro NCAP crash test, and the i3 keep this up, BMW's enormous investment in new electric architecture could prove to be one of the smartest calls any European brand has made. For once, there is reason for genuine cheer.
