BMW will be absent from one of Europe’s most important automotive events this year. The German manufacturer has decided not to attend the upcoming Paris Motor Show, running from 13 to 18 October 2026, and the reason behind the withdrawal is not a lack of new models but purely economic considerations.
The absence extends beyond the main BMW brand. Mini will also skip the event, despite having confirmed its participation back in January. The decision means Paris will miss out on seeing the first models built on the Neue Klasse platform, the i3 and iX3, along with the new X5 and the latest generation 7 Series.
A group under pressure
In the first half of 2026, the BMW Group sold approximately 1.15 million vehicles worldwide, a decline of 4.2 percent driven mainly by weakness in the Chinese market. Following a profit warning issued in mid June, management reshuffled its priorities and ultimately chose to withdraw from the French event.
A spokesperson for the German company explained that all activities had been reprioritized following the profit warning issued a month earlier, and that the decision to skip the Paris Motor Show was made as a result. The spokesperson stressed that the move applies only to this year and does not affect BMW’s participation in other trade fairs.
Sharp decline in China weighs on results
Outlook for the second half of the year does not look particularly strong, largely because of falling demand in China, where sales dropped by 20.4 percent. That decline was only partially offset by growth in Europe (+5.4 percent) and the United States (+3.9 percent). Additional pressure comes from tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump, alongside broader macroeconomic uncertainty tied to the conflict in the Middle East, creating a difficult environment for Europe’s established carmakers.
Some bright spots despite the downturn
Not everything has been negative for the group. The Mini brand grew by 25.6 percent over the last six months, reaching 9,726 units. BMW Motorrad retained its leadership position in the premium motorcycle segment, as well as in the over 500cc and over 750cc categories, selling 9,702 motorcycles and scooters during the same period.
In June 2026, plug in vehicles across the group reached 1,112 units for the month, made up of 889 BMW and 223 Mini models, marking growth of 62.3 percent. Fully electrified Mini models, however, fell by 28.5 percent, totaling 876 units. Looking ahead to 2027, BMW will need its new design direction to win over an increasingly demanding customer base.
