If you don't work harder, you won't be able to drive a BBA!

BBA has always been synonymous with luxury cars, a white moonlight in the hearts of countless people, a surefire money-making beast, but now it has become the most unfamiliar version of itself.

The financial report for the first half of the year struck a heavy blow to the "BBA" brands: BMW's net profit plummeted nearly 30%, Audi's profit fell by 37.5%, and the "big brother" Mercedes-Benz even hit rock bottom, with a 69% drop in net profit in Q2......

Profits collectively plummeted, and the performance of BBA in the first half of the year is dismal!

BBA sales have plummeted, and dealers have shifted online one after another, marking the end of the era of German luxury cars, which is a microcosm of foreign luxury vehicles.

In the era of electric intelligence, the word "luxury" seems to be drifting further away from BBA.

Even though some BBA cars have dropped to below 200,000, they still cannot return to the peak of the Chinese market.

At its core, the passion for luxury cars vanished in an instant when belief collapsed; more importantly, the roar of the engine no longer ignites the hormones of car enthusiasts, and the "three main components" of traditional fuel vehicles are gradually being replaced by electric vehicle drive systems.

In the first half of the year, domestic automobile sales reached 9.27 million units, a year-on-year increase of 25%.

On one side, the BBA is retreating steadily, while on the other side, domestic cars are making rapid progress in the era of new energy vehicles; in this major transformation, a sense of stark contrast between fuel vehicles and new energy vehicles arises.

01

Mercedes-Benz has plummeted!

Recently, Mercedes-Benz's stock price dropped over 3% in one night, with its market value falling below 50 billion euros, evaporating approximately 20 billion.

Worse still, the latest financial report released by the Mercedes-Benz Group has left the entire automotive industry gasping in shock.

Net profit in the second quarter plummeted by 68.7% year-on-year, dropping from 3 billion euros in the same period last year to 957 million euros. BBA's "big brother" Mercedes-Benz had a quarterly profit that was even lower than BYD's in the off-peak Q1.

In the first half of 2025, Mercedes-Benz's revenue was 66.377 billion euros, a year-on-year decline of 8%, and net profit was 2.688 billion euros, a year-on-year plunge of 55.8%.

Who would have thought that the once unassailable luxury car dominator is now retreating step by step in the global market.

Mercedes-Benz's sales in the second quarter fell by 9% year-on-year to 453,700 units. Among them, sales in Europe decreased by 3%, North America by 6%, and the Asia-Pacific region saw a significant decline of 11%. As China's largest single market for Mercedes-Benz, sales dropped by 19% year-on-year to 140,400 units, indicating that Mercedes-Benz is indeed struggling to sell.

Despite the luxury car manufacturer, known for its trident star logo, attributing its difficulties to global supply chain pressures, soaring energy and raw material costs, increased trade barriers, and weak consumer demand in key markets.

However, everyone knows that Mercedes-Benz's deepest wound comes from the world's largest automotive market - China, especially in the field of electric vehicles that will determine the future.

In the second quarter, sales of Mercedes-Benz's all-electric vehicles fell by 24%; in the first half of the year, Mercedes-Benz delivered only 5,200 pure electric vehicles in China, a dramatic drop of 66% compared to the same period last year.

Data shows that Mercedes-Benz Group's market share in China's pure electric vehicle market has shrunk to 0.16%, which is only one-sixth of BMW's. Even when including traditional fuel vehicles, its overall market share is only 2.8%.

In order to regain sales, Mercedes-Benz has been drastically lowering prices since last year, with popular models seeing price cuts of over 100,000. As a result, the outcome has been counterproductive, leading to chaotic terminal prices, a loss of brand premium, and a collapse of consumer trust.

Once a symbol of status and identity, the Mercedes-Benz 4S dealerships are now also closing down in droves and transitioning online.

In the first half of this year, over 80 Mercedes-Benz 4S dealerships across the country have terminated their authorization, involving 23 cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou.

From June 24 to June 30, in just seven days, Mercedes-Benz officially revoked the authorization of nine 4S stores, including those in Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shaoxing. Many stores have already welcomed new operators, and they are none other than HarmonyOS Smart Mobility.

02

BBA is not the only one struggling with new energy; Audi can also be considered a "difficult brother".

The financial report shows that Audi's revenue for the first half of 2025 reached 32.57 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 5.3%, but this slight growth was completely overshadowed by a dramatic decline in profits. In the first half of the year, Audi's operating profit plummeted by 45.2% to 1.087 billion euros, and net profit fell sharply by 37.5% to 1.346 billion euros. Audi's performance report for the first half of the year is truly dismal; if it were solely due to poor sales, Audi would accept it. However, this profit crash seems not only to be their own issue but also akin to an unwarranted disaster (Audi's Chief Financial Officer pointed the finger at tariffs, stating that the additional tariffs alone caused the company to lose about 600 million euros).

To some extent, this 600 million euros should have been pure profit reflected in financial performance, but ultimately had to be relinquished due to tariff policies.

Of course, if the performance is poor, we must first look for reasons in sales. The Audi Group delivered a total of 794,000 vehicles in the first half of the year, a year-on-year decline of nearly 6%, marking Audi's third consecutive half-year decline.

In the European market, Audi saw a year-on-year decline of 4%, while in North America, it dropped by 9% (Audi's sales in the U.S. plummeted by 19.4% in the second quarter); as Audi's largest single market, China saw a year-on-year decline of 10.2%, with pure electric vehicle sales down 23.5%, totaling only 7,897 units. Audi's new energy vehicles are truly struggling to sell.

Originally, Audi planned to release its last batch of gasoline vehicles globally in 2026 and achieve full electrification by 2033. However, due to low demand for electric vehicle technology and the declining sales of gasoline vehicles, Audi recently withdrew its plan for a complete transition to electrification and is no longer setting a clear deadline for termination.

BBA's semi-annual report has set a gloomy tone for the first half of German luxury cars, as the German automotive industry, hit hard by heavy tariffs and the pains of transformation, is facing difficulties.