BMW's 1.5-Million Takata Recall Compounds New CEO's Challenges as Shares Sink to 26-Week Low

BMW recalls 1.5M vehicles over explosive Takata airbags, stock slides to 26-week low of €74.66. New CEO Nedeljkovi? faces margin pressure, EV costs, and reputational risk.

BMW has been forced to call back roughly 1.5 million vehicles globally to replace potentially explosive Takata airbag inflators — a logistical and financial headache that arrives as the automaker’s stock is already plumbing new depths. The recall covers the 1 Series, 3 Series, X1 and X3 built between 2006 and 2015, plus older 3 Series models from 1998 to 2006, with the driver- and passenger-side airbag generators needing inspection and, in many cases, replacement.

The shares slid to a fresh 26-week trough of €75.64 last Friday, a level that technical traders read as a short signal. Since then the stock has edged marginally lower to around €74.66, leaving it roughly 22% below the 52-week high of €97.12 touched in December 2025. The relative strength index sits at 56 — neutral territory that offers short-term relief but does little to alter the medium-term picture. The current price also trades between 11.5% and 13% below the 200-day moving average, underscoring a persistent downtrend.

That slide comes just as Milan Nedeljkovi? took the wheel as chief executive on 14 May. His inbox is full: margins in the premium segment are under pressure from aggressive pricing by Chinese rivals, the costly ramp-up of the “Neue Klasse” electric-vehicle platform must deliver, and now a recall of this scale will tie up dealer capacity and weigh on the operating result through both administrative costs and provisions. BMW has so far stuck to its full-year guidance of an EBIT margin of 4% to 6% in the automotive division, but the financial hit from the recall — which the company has not yet quantified — adds another layer of uncertainty.

The broader industry backdrop does Nedeljkovi? no favours either. Chinese competitors such as BYD are expanding in Europe at pace: in Switzerland alone, BYD plans to double its dealer network to around 50 outlets by year-end. Meanwhile, Audi reported an 8.1% drop in first-quarter revenue, with its China sales plunging 12%. For BMW, any quality blemish on a safety-critical component like the airbag risks damaging the premium reputation that is central to its pricing power.

On the positive side, BMW is banking on a strong order intake for its battery-electric models. The new iX3 and the broader Neue Klasse family are expected to provide the sales momentum needed to lift the stock. Whether that materialises in hard numbers will become clearer when the second-quarter results are released in July — a make-or-break data point for investors seeking reasons to re-enter a stock that has lost roughly a fifth of its value since the start of the year.