BMW Stock Stuck at 52-Week Lows as 225,000 Job Cuts Loom and Neue Klasse Technology Fails to Spark Rally

VDA warns of 1 in 4 auto jobs vanishing by 2035; BMW shares slump 36% from 2026 peak as Chinese competition and yuan undervaluation squeeze margins.

Up to 225,000 jobs could vanish from Germany’s auto industry by 2035, the VDA has warned – the equivalent of one in four positions. For BMW, the sector-wide pain is already visible in its share price. The stock closed Wednesday at €60.88, a hair’s breadth above its 52-week low of €58.80, and has shed roughly 36% since the start of 2026. Technical indicators flash deep distress: the Relative Strength Index has fallen to between 23 and 24, well into oversold territory, while the gap to the 200-day moving line has widened to a punishing 27%.

The root cause of the pressure remains China. An Institute of the German Economy study argues that the Chinese yuan is artificially undervalued by as much as 40%, giving Beijing’s automakers a built-in export advantage. The flood of low-cost vehicles from Asia is squeezing margins across the industry, and the numbers tell the story. In the first quarter of 2026, Germany’s three largest carmakers together generated only €6.4 billion in operating profit. By contrast, Volkswagen alone earned €8.3 billion in early 2022.

BMW’s answer is to double down on premium. The company is pushing ahead with its “Neue Klasse” platform, a software-defined architecture due to debut in 2027 with the redesigned 7 Series. That flagship saloon will pack a 112.5 kWh battery, target a range of over 560 kilometres, and support charging speeds of up to 250 kW. It will also come with the NACS connector and feature BMW’s Panoramic iDrive and a Passenger Screen. On the sportier side, the next M3 will be offered in two flavours: an updated combustion version with the S58 engine and a standalone electric model. The M3 Touring will also get a Neue Klasse rebirth.

Sustainability is another pillar of the strategy. The new X5 has slashed its development-stage CO? footprint by 40%, thanks in part to 50% electric steel and a high share of recycled aluminium. BMW’s US plant in Spartanburg now runs entirely on renewable electricity. And at the Intersolar Europe fair in Munich, the group teamed up with Solarwatt to unveil a vehicle-to-home system that lets Neue Klasse cars store excess rooftop solar power and feed it back into the house. The service is scheduled to launch in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands by the end of 2026.

Yet none of these technological leaps has lifted the stock. The macro headwinds simply weigh too heavily. Investors are also digesting a management departure: Massimiliano Di Silvestre, CEO of BMW Group Italia, is leaving to become Ferrari’s chief marketing and commercial officer from 1 July 2026, replacing Enrico Galliera. While the move is eye-catching, it alters nothing about BMW’s strategic course.

The disconnect between operational ambition and market reality is growing. BMW can point to a premium product pipeline and a clear electrification roadmap, but as long as Chinese competition keeps margins under siege, the stock is likely to remain pinned near its lows. A sustained recovery will require tangible evidence that the group’s core business is generating fatter margins – not just press releases from the engineering labs.