BMW to raise prices of two US-made vehicles in China

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German carmaker BMW will raise the prices of two US-made crossover sport-utility vehicles in China to cope with the additional cost of tariffs on US car imports into the world’s biggest auto market.

BMW said in a statement on Sunday that it would increase maker-suggested retail prices of the popular, relatively high-margin X5 and X6 SUV models by 4 percent to 7 percent.

The rates of increase suggest that BMW is willing to absorb much of the higher costs stemming from bringing the SUVs to China from its factory in South Carolina, underscoring the fierce competition among luxury car brands in China.

File photo of a BMW X5 vehicle. /Reuters Photo

BMW’s move comes after China imposed new tariffs earlier this month on about 34 billion dollars of US imports, from soybeans and cars to lobsters, as part of a widening trade row.

Beijing, which this year cut tariffs on all automobiles imported into China, slapped an additional 25 percent levy on US-made cars as of July 6. As a result, China now levies a 40 percent import duty on all cars imported from the United States.

“BMW stands for free (trade) but can’t stand still without taking actions to respond to the market changes,” a BMW spokeswoman said in an email message to Reuters.

BMW imports X4, X5 and X6 crossover SUV models from the United States for sale in China where demand for SUVs has been booming. Last year, the German automaker shipped more than 100,000 vehicles from the United States to China.

The company made no reference to the pricing of its X4 model.

BMW’s decision to absorb much of the impact of the higher tariffs echoes an earlier move by US carmaker Ford Motor Co, which said it would not increase its prices for now in an effort to sustain its business momentum.

China-based car dealers said that German rival Mercedes Benz, operated by Daimler AG, moderately raised the price in mid-July of its GLE, a sporty midsize SUV produced in the state of Alabama, in China.

Daimler’s chief executive Dieter Zetsche said last Thursday the carmaker was looking at ways to mitigate the impact of the trade war. This would include a review of whether to shift some US production to China.

Daimler also said last week its 2018 pre-tax profits would fall from last year because the new Chinese import tariffs would hurt sales of Mercedes-Benz SUVs.

Source(s): Reuters