The German automotive group BMW announced on Friday that it had recorded a significant decline in its profits last year compared to the previous year. In its annual report from its headquarters in Munich, the group stated that it generated profits of 7.7 billion euros (8.3 billion dollars) in 2024, marking a 37 percent decline in profit volume.

The group attributed this decline to its weak performance in the crucial Chinese market, as well as the global recall of vehicles due to issues with brakes produced by the automotive parts manufacturer (Continental). 

This comes just days after Germany's two largest automotive groups, (Volkswagen) and (Mercedes-Benz), also announced declines in their profits for the previous year. (Volkswagen) reported a 31 percent drop in profits, reaching 12.4 billion euros (13.4 billion dollars), while (Mercedes-Benz) announced a 28 percent decline in profits, totaling 10.4 billion euros (11.3 billion dollars).

These profit declines occur amid turbulent geopolitical conditions in Europe due to the Russian-Ukrainian war and related disputes with Washington. Additionally, they come at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to raise tariffs on European goods, which, from a German perspective, could impact exports of cars, chemicals, and machinery to American markets.