By Christina Amann

MUNICH (Reuters) – BMW (ETR:) expects to promote extra automobiles in China this yr regardless of a neighborhood worth battle within the electrical automobile (EV) phase, and muted demand total, the posh carmaker’s chief monetary officer (CFO) mentioned on the IAA (NYSE:) automotive present in Munich.

In his first interview since turning into finance chief in Might, Walter Mertl advised Reuters that BMW had been capable of develop 3.7% in China within the first half, quicker than the world’s prime auto market as a complete, and anticipated this development to proceed.

“We’re assuming, and we’re seeing this in the intervening time, that we are going to promote extra this yr than final yr,” Mertl mentioned with regard to China, including that the worth battle was predominantly affecting the cheaper segments of the auto market, the place BMW isn’t energetic.

China’s passenger automobile gross sales fell for a second month in July, as reductions and authorities assist measures didn’t lure customers cautious of shopping for automobiles amid a sputtering financial system and a chronic stoop within the housing market.

Worth cuts made by Tesla (NASDAQ:) in early 2023 have unfold to quite a few manufacturers in China, with Basic Motors (NYSE:) and Volkswagen (ETR:) becoming a member of a recent spherical of cuts in the summertime.

BMW lately raised its 2023 outlook for group automobile gross sales and mentioned it expects stable development, which is outlined as anyplace between 5% and 9.9%. In 2022, automobiles gross sales had declined by 4.8% to round 2.4 million; in China, they had been down 6.4% to 791,985.

Mertl mentioned that the phase-out of grants to spice up electrical automobiles in Germany would trigger a short lived drop in demand. “However afterwards issues will proceed as regular.”

BMW, which on Saturday launched particulars about its new electrical platform “Neue Klasse”, plans to boost the share of EVs in complete automobiles offered to fifteen% in 2023 and 20% in 2024, from round 9% in 2022.