For some time now, BMW has been the most profitable automaker in the world, boasting the highest profit margins. Thanks to some clever engineering, packaging and pricing, BMW has been able to be the most profitable automaker for years and years. However, at least for the first three quarters of 2018, it’s lost that title to…Suzuki.
That’s right, Suzuki, the manufacturer of motorcycles and fun little econoboxes, now holds the highest profit margins of any car company. Suzuki now holds 11.8 percent profit margins, while BMW is at 11.4 percent, according to German publications. And, honestly, congrats to Suzuki.
U.S.-made BMW X3
It’s good to see a small-ish automaker doing well, especially one that makes surprisingly fun and interesting little cars (remember the Kizashi?). Also, BMW is going to be just fine. Despite being in second place, it’s a dominant second place. Daimler is currently third among the most profitable automakers with 6.5 percent. So BMW’s 11.4 percent is still quite a bit higher than that, showing that BMW is still thriving.
BMW, among all other German automakers, also faced some difficulty this past year. While not directly involved with the infamous diesel scandal, BMW still faced a bit of a challenge from it, as many customers lost faith in German car brands. There’s also the looming trade war between the U.S. and China, which has been hurting profits on all U.S.-made SUVs exporting to China.
Kizashi!
Despite all of that, BMW has still managed to remain very profitable in the industry. Though it is surprising to see Suzuki being number one, as it’s not really a brand known for profitability. Especially considering that Suzuki no longer sells any cars in the U.S. (bring back the Kizashi!). So good on Suzuki and, to any Germans that are worried about BMW (because there seems to be a lot of that), fret not, BMW will be just fine.
what about Porsche margin?
You mean VAG.
Porsche is a company owned by VAG.
Well said. This guy always gets his facts wrong.
While you avoid them.
My point. A company whose margins are inflated by selling rebadged VW SUVs.
So what VW does relates to Porsche how?
If your uncle couldn’t keep his hands off the plate at the bar – are you an offender?
Porsche attempted to take over VW a decade ago, 2008 turned Porsche into the underdog, they lost their family top dog to VW corporate infighting. So for VW relating to Porsche, where do you think all those SUVs come from? Porsche & VW have been intertwined ALWAYS, just like when VW bought Audi from Mercedes decades ago.
I know, it’s a great story.
Porsche’s margin is still Porsche’s margin. Their performance is their performance.
Are you saying Porsche’s SUVs are rebadged VWs?
No, Porsche have such a long history of SUVs. Their 1st sedan was on a Cayenne platform. And bottom line is corporate. Where are you buying Porsche shares?
The twist is the untwisted.
Incoherent.
When did Suzuki issue a profit alert based on increased R&D costs? They didn’t?! When did BMW?
BMW should explore a Direct-to-Consumer sales model like Tesla and cut-out the middle man.
Honestly, I don’t see the value of car dealers who pocket a lot of the profit for doing nothing!
Unfortunately they have a lock on the market, franchises are frequently passed from generation, I’ve known several managers who inherited their jobs & have NO interest in the industry. Tesla were going state to state challenging privately held franchising in court.
Congratulations to Suzuki. When I was a little kid, they made my favourite motorcycles: GSX-R 1000 and iconic Hayabusa. Oh, and in the 90s they made a tiny little fun hot-hatch called Swift GTI. A friend of my dad had a black one, with Swift GTI special white wheels. Good times…
If margins are % how much is BMW actually out-grossing Suzuki?
BMW lost the sales chart race to Merc last year, lost the design mojo some half a decade back, stopped being benchmark cars, and now lost this race.
There are quite a bit of losses that BMW is facing at the moment.