[Jason]

BIMMERPOST NEWS

BMW Earns Approximately $5000 Profit Per Vehicle

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A report from Autonews reveals that BMW earned approximately $5,000 profit per vehicle in 2016.

Among the luxury German makes, Porsche pockets the highest profit per vehicle - $17,250. Daimler AG (Mercedes) earned approximately the same profit per vehicle as BMW in 2016. As the report states, part of the money magic is simply price. Even luxury companies like BMW and Mercedes occasionally offer more pedestrian versions at narrower margins to get aspiring buyers into the family. The lowest priced Porsche in the U.S. is the Macan at $47,500 while the lowest priced BMW currently available in the U.S. is the X1 at $33,100.

Wondering how much an exotic car maker earns per car? Based on Ferrari's operating profit and cars delivered, the Italian car maker made $90,000 per vehicle in 2016. But, about 30 percent of Ferrari’s business comes from engines, key chains, amusement parks, and other things that don’t have wheels. The company makes only produces 8,000 cars a year.

These profit per vehicle figures were calculated considering the operating profit of each company, divided by the number of vehicles delivered last year.

[M3 Adjuster]

After seeing the article regarding the average Porsche profit at $17,xxx I feel a lot smarter being a lifelong BMW guy.


The BMW 1M and M2 are examples of low margin vehicles from BMW by the way, and have done exactly as intended , brought many newer, younger enthusiasts to the brand

[3M TAPE]

I wonder how much BMW makes on each current generation models.
The current Z4 recently bowed out and I'm thinking it was one of the more profitable models; it was the longest overdue car in the line up.

[GOLFFRR]

I wish! lol

[clbmw]

I don't believe that I'm sorry, maybe US but I think it's more in the UK. A good friend of mine works in procurement and the discounts he was able to negotiate were enough to make me green with envy

[insanecoder]

Originally Posted by M3 Adjuster

After seeing the article regarding the average Porsche profit at $17,xxx I feel a lot smarter being a lifelong BMW guy.


The BMW 1M and M2 are examples of low margin vehicles from BMW by the way, and have done exactly as intended , brought many newer, younger enthusiasts to the brand

I think we all understand the math on that one.. better bang for buck too.. s'why we're all here bowing to the "king"

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by 3M TAPE

I wonder how much BMW makes on each current generation models.
The current Z4 recently bowed out and I'm thinking it was one of the more profitable models; it was the longest overdue car in the line up.

The most profitable models typically

1- have a lot of options available
2- are sold In large quantities.
3- share manufacturing costs across multiple platforms

When a manufacturer of any product sets the price for the product , the price is based on manufacturing " x " of the product.

If the product takes off and sells well then the manufacturer can increase production , which then reduces the cost per unit.

For example - if it costs $100,000 to make 100,000 pencils ... producing the next 100,000 will have a lower cost associated with that batch as the initial product run will have paid for the startup cost.

The next 100,000 pencils may only cost $80,000 to make for example ... meaning that if the price stays the same then the company makes a better profit per unit.

In the case of automobiles in the BMW lineup... over the last several decades the X1, X3, and X5 have far outsold their projections.

The current gen Z4.. likely not ... especially since it was only sold as a roadster without a coupe model

[Longboarder]

The profit per vehicle can range dramatically. I have internal data from Porsche on the 911 a few years back and you can multiply $17k by the number of fingers in your hand on some higher priced variants.

Same goes for some bmw models/trims.

[bjcarls]

Does this take out other company investments, financial services, etc...? I think it's a little too simple of an equation. Directional, yes. I heard GM makes on average $10k on a pickup, I wonder how much on a Caddy SUV...

[RACEM4TE]

Porsche does that by making a stripper car with no options, unlike bmw

[Flying Ace]

many ways to measure profitability. I'm sure many are willing to give up the margins on a BMW for the raw profit figures of a Toyota for example.

[Araemo]

It seems that this is simply dividing 'operating revenue' by 'cars sold'. Doesn't operating revenue include all revenue, as in parts, service, franchise fees, etc, etc, etc...?

As in, this is a lot more than just ( ( car sale price ) - ( car manufacturing price ) ).

[The Automotive Enthusiast]

Porsche earns $17,700 per car.

[greekcs]

$5000 dollars per car pays for a whole lot of marketing.

[Dackelone]

It wasn't so long ago(I think back in the 996 days) when Porsche's per car profit was around $35K per car! Still, I see Porsche still continues to lead the industry in per car profits.


PS: Don't forget those profits have to pay for warranty claims and sales(incentives) and marketing(fees). In Bob Lutz's book he had an enlightening moment when he found out how much BMW was making per car back in the '70's. Basically BMW had to sell 200K cars in order to make the same profit as MB did on 2K cars. Looks like not much has changed over the years.

[jackaleyess]

I think BMW made more profit per car in Malaysia. They are selling $46k for a base 318i in Malaysia. Taking into account of our excise being 75% max but smaller engine capacity should have a lower rate of around 50%. The rest i think BMW is puting into their big fat account.

[Naz24]

I thought the 228i was the cheapest? 32,850 vs 33,100 for an X1

[B///MWGuy]

As much as I'm hoping this post is accurate... I still think there's a huge catch in the calculation. Is the full calculation available somewhere?

[Mikster]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

It wasn't so long ago(I think back in the 996 days) when Porsche's per car profit was around $35K per car! Still, I see Porsche still continues to lead the industry in per car profits.


PS: Don't forget those profits have to pay for warranty claims and sales(incentives) and marketing(fees). In Bob Lutz's book he had an enlightening moment when he found out how much BMW was making per car back in the '70's. Basically BMW had to sell 200K cars in order to make the same profit as MB did on 2K cars. Looks like not much has changed over the years.

Not really. Profit would be the net revenue after all those marketing costs, warranties, etc. are accounted for.

M

[deadlyrhythm]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

It wasn't so long ago(I think back in the 996 days) when Porsche's per car profit was around $35K per car! Still, I see Porsche still continues to lead the industry in per car profits.


PS: Don't forget those profits have to pay for warranty claims and sales(incentives) and marketing(fees). In Bob Lutz's book he had an enlightening moment when he found out how much BMW was making per car back in the '70's. Basically BMW had to sell 200K cars in order to make the same profit as MB did on 2K cars. Looks like not much has changed over the years.

Didn't the article just say the average margin was the same for MB and BMW? How is that different?

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by deadlyrhythm

Didn't the article just say the average margin was the same for MB and BMW? How is that different?

Lol yeah apparently BMW has caught up !

Perhaps this was In comparison to Porsche ?

[ORIGIN M.]

With many adding a huge heap of pork fried rice right on top of all the sauerkraut, bless their little hearts!

Originally Posted by M3 Adjuster

...as intended , brought many newer, younger enthusiasts to the brand