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BMW expects auto tariffs to drop from July, but sticks to its 2025 vision

BMW, the premium German carmaker, confirmed Wednesday its outlook for 2025. It said it expects some of the current tariffs on vehicle imports will decline starting in July. This is one of the most optimistic assessments of the prospects of the industry.

The majority of BMW's competitors, including Mercedes-Benz and Ford, have pulled their forecasts for 2025, claiming that it is too difficult to provide a proper guide in light of the extensive import tariffs in America, the second-largest auto market in the world.

BMW said that its March 2025 forecast, which included all tariffs announced to date, was still valid. It predicted earnings before taxes on par with last year, and an operating margin of 5-7% at its automotive division.

BMW stated that it was only able to estimate the impact of tariffs on the current year, based on certain assumptions. However, the company expected "some tariff increases will be temporary with reductions starting in July 2025".

The company's shares were expected to open 2% higher. This was also supported by a better-than-expected EBIT for the first quarter of 2,02 billion euros ($2.3billion) at its automotive unit. It came in over the 1,85 billion LSEG survey of banks and brokers.

The unit's operating profit margin was 6.9%, down slightly from 8.8% during the same period last year but above the 6.3% LSEG survey forecast.

BMW warned that the actual performance of its business could be different if tariffs were to increase or remained in place longer than expected. It also cautioned against the possibility of supply bottlenecks, particularly for certain parts and raw materials. Reporting by Christoph Steitz; editing by Kirstiknolle and Tomaszjanowski.

(source: Reuters)