The BMW share price closed Friday at EUR 83.62, a 3.3% daily gain that pushed it just above the 50-day moving average of EUR 83.44. This technical milestone, however, arrives as the automaker navigates a complex mix of strategic change and challenging market dynamics.
A historic shift in the company’s capital structure is set for approval at the Annual General Meeting on 13 May. The board proposes converting all 54.7 million non-voting preference shares into ordinary shares on a 1:1 basis without additional payment. This move will simplify the equity structure, increase stock liquidity, and grant former preference shareholders voting rights. The company’s share capital will remain unchanged at approximately EUR 616 million, but will henceforth consist solely of ordinary shares. For the 2025 financial year, the last with a dividend preference, the proposed payout is EUR 4.42 per preference share and EUR 4.40 per ordinary share. From 2026, profits will be distributed equally across all shares.
This shareholder meeting will also mark a leadership transition, with Oliver Zipse stepping down as CEO. His successor will be Milan Nedeljković, the current production chief and a company veteran since 1993. The 56-year-old, who has managed plants in Oxford, Leipzig, and Munich, will see his contract run until 2031.
Operational results for the first quarter of 2026 underscore the difficult environment facing the new leadership. Global vehicle deliveries fell 3.5% year-on-year to 565,748 units. The decline was heavily concentrated in China, BMW’s largest single market, where deliveries dropped 10% to just under 144,000 vehicles. The US electric vehicle segment saw an even steeper decline of approximately 50%, with xEVs now making up only 12% of the sales mix there.
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These regional weaknesses were partially offset by strength in Europe. Deliveries in Germany surged 10.7% to over 68,000 units, contributing to a 3% overall increase in Europe to roughly 236,000 vehicles. The performance of purely battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) was notably weak globally, plunging 20% to 87,458 units. Management attributes this to model changeovers ahead of the launch of the “Neue Klasse” platform.
Despite the current BEV dip, there are positive signals for the electric future. The new BMW iX3 has gathered over 50,000 orders in Europe since its order books opened. For the full 2026 financial year, management anticipates an EBIT margin of 4-6% in the Automotive segment, below its target range of 8-10%. The company estimates that tariffs are weighing on the margin by around 1.25 percentage points, even after countermeasures.
Analyst sentiment reflects these pressures. Kepler Cheuvreux recently downgraded the stock to “Reduce” and cut its price target to EUR 69, citing margin pressure from competition and weakening demand in China. Year-to-date, the share has lost about 13%, and the 100-day moving average at EUR 87.57 remains out of reach, though the stock trades well above its April low of EUR 70.34.
All eyes are now on the upcoming Beijing auto show, where BMW has an opportunity to showcase new models and its strategy for the critical Chinese market. The event precedes the landmark AGM, setting the stage for a pivotal period as the company steers through structural change and uneven global demand.
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