Despite facing major difficulties in the Chinese market, Porsche maintained the highest profit margin among German premium carmakers in the first nine months of 2026.
Profit margin was calculated by dividing operating profit by the number of vehicles sold. Porsche continues to rank first, with a profit margin of €9,746 per vehicle. Porsche sold 178,532 cars and generated an operating profit of €1.74 billion.
Porsche is followed by BMW, with a profit margin of €3,044 per vehicle. The Bavarian carmaker reported an operating profit of €5.2 billion on sales of 1,707,802 vehicles. However, BMW does not disclose profit margins separately for its three brands – BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce – but only on a consolidated basis.
Mercedes is not far behind BMW, with a profit margin of €2,660 per vehicle. Mercedes sold 1,503,200 vehicles, including vans, in the first nine months of 2026 and reported an operating profit of €4.001 billion.
The lowest profit margin was recorded by Audi, at just €1,089 per vehicle. Audi sold 1,056,103 vehicles in the first nine months of 2026 and generated an operating profit of €1.15 billion.
The bad news is that profit margins are falling sharply across all German premium manufacturers, mainly due to declining sales in China, US tariffs and rising labour costs in their home market of Germany.
| Brand | Audi | BMW | Mercedes | Porsche |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cars sold | 1,056,103 | 1,707,802 | 1,503,200 | 178,532 |
| Operational profit (bil. Euro) | 1.15 | 5.2 | 4.001 | 1.74 |
| Profit margin by car (euro) | 1,089 | 3,044 | 2,660 | 9,746 |
BMW sales includes Mini and Rolls-Royce because BMW report profit only for the whole group.
Mercedes sales includes also vans.
