13/03/2026

BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | MAR 13, 2026

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BMW profit holds up despite US tariffs and China woes

America, India still at odds with majority on WTO reform GENEVA: The United States and India still have reservations about a plan to overhaul the World Trade Organisation, even though “a large majority of members” support it, the talks facilitator said on Wednesday. Reforming the global trade body, which has spent years tangled up in structural and geopolitical obstacles, will be the focus of discussions at the WTO’s ministerial conference, its biennial main gathering, from March 26 to 29 in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde. “A large majority of members support the plan” that is on the table after nine months of discussions, said Norway’s ambassador to the WTO Petter Olberg, who is facilitating the reform talks. “We’re getting closer to something which ministers can endorse” in Yaounde, he told reporters at the WTO’s headquarters in Geneva. All countries want WTO reform, but “there is some disagreement; there are some divergences” on the solutions, he added, without going into details. “It’s a compromise. So nobody is super happy. Some want more ambition; some want less ambition. Some want more detail; some want less detail.” The goal in Yaounde is not to finalise the reforms, but to establish a programme of work, with fixed objectives and deadlines. The draft reform plan has not yet been published, but has three main components, said Olberg. First is decision-making, including the possibility of plurilateral negotiations, in which decisions are taken by some but not all members, rather than by consensus. Second are the benefits granted to developing countries; and finally, issues of transparency and compliance with trade measures. “There still are some countries holding back, but they are few in number,“ said Olberg. “It’s the United States and it’s India,“ he continued. “But the thing that kind of gives me hope that we will land this thing is that nobody – including the United States and India – is saying they don’t want reform. “We are getting there, we are close, and the final push will have to be done by ministers themselves” in Yaounde, said Olberg. – AFP Auto manufacturers will also benefit from “super credits” for small “affordable” electric cars made in the EU, in an accounting trick that would make reaching emission targets easier. But the car industry is pushing for more concessions, including further weakening an intermediate 2030 target. European auto lobby ACEA wants the latter spread over five years, up from the three proposed by the European Commission, among other measures. – AFP

FRANKFURT: German carmaker BMW reported just a 3% fall in annual profit yesterday, despite US tariffs and cutthroat competition in China, far smaller than the double-digit plunges seen at rivals. Net profit in 2025 fell to €7.45 billion (RM33.8 billion), the Munich-based firm said, compared to earlier reported falls of almost a half at Mercedes-Benz and the Volkswagen Group. “Over the past years, we have adopted the right strategic o German carmaker benefiting from right strategic positioning

Porsche thanks to its large plant in South Carolina, BMW nevertheless has to pay duties on some imports into the US, including on car parts that come from outside North America. The European Union in 2024 also put tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars, hitting BMW’s exports of electric Minis out of the country. In common with its German rivals, BMW has also come under intense pressure from local competitors in China, the world’s largest car market, although it forecast stable sales by volume in the country for 2026. BMW’s sales by volume are now at their lowest level since 2017 and the carmaker last October lowered its profit outlook, warning of Chinese sales below expectations. – AFP

press conference they were doomed to failure. “We are convinced that the Union experiment of mandating electrification will not deliver the desired results, to the contrary,” he said. “This year, together with policymakers, we must find realistic solutions that allow us to achieve our climate goals and to strengthen our economy.” For 2026, BMW said EU and US tariffs as well as intense competition in China would continue to weigh on its results, forecasting a moderate drop in earnings before tax. Total tariff costs amounted to roughly €1.75 billion for the year, BMW said. Though in a far more comfortable position than the likes of Audi or

positioning,” BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said. “We are benefiting from that today: In a challenging environment, we do not need to change direction but can maintain our course,” he added. BMW has taken a more flexible approach to electric vehicles (EVs) than some of its competitors, deciding early on to maintain petrol and diesel options for its customers. Whereas firms from Porsche to Ford and Jeep-owner Stellantis have since booked very costly hits measured in the billions following partial pivots away from EVs, BMW has so far avoided this at the same time as seeing its electric sales rise. Addressing European Union regulations that mandate higher sales of EVs over time, Zipse told a

Zipse talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz next to a BMW iX3 at the IAA Mobility auto show in Munich. – REUTERSPIC

Electric car prices drop, helping sales in EU BRUSSELS: The average price of an electric car dropped for the first time since 2020 in Europe last year, which helped sales, a report found yesterday, as the EU debates weakening climate targets for automakers. hurdle on the way to 2035 – as electric vehicle (EV) sales pick up, according to advocacy group Transport & Environment (T&E). reduction targets for the price drop, saying they pushed carmakers to bring more competitively priced models to market.

equivalents have long been seen as a drag on sales. But price parity is within reach by 2030 if the EU leaves its related emission goals unchanged, according to T&E. The targets will be a hotly debated issue in Brussels in the coming weeks. Under plans put forward in December, carmakers will have to cut exhaust emissions from new vehicles by 90% from 2021 levels by 2035 – down from the previously envisaged 100%.

“Even if the automotive industry doesn’t like to admit it, the EU’s CO2 standards have enabled hundreds of thousands of Europeans to access more affordable electric cars,” the group said. Automakers face steep fines for failing to comply with emission targets. EVs’ higher upfront costs compared with combustion engine

EVs accounted for 19% of all new cars sold in the European Union and Norway in 2025, up from about 14% the previous year, T&E said in a report. The average electric car price across the bloc fell by 4%, or €1,800, to €42,700 (RM194,000), the analysis found, adding this was driven by the release of new, affordable, small EV models. T&E credited EU emission

EU environment ministers are to discuss next week a proposal to relax a 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel cars, which Europe’s beleaguered car manufacturers have deemed unattainable. Yet all carmakers have already met or are on track to comply with 2025-2027 emission targets – a first