BMW slashed its outlook for 2026 on Tuesday, blaming an accelerated downturn in the key Chinese market as well as the impact of the Iran war, which the German premium carmaker said had hit consumer sentiment and raised energy costs. The comments showed how exposed Europe's auto sector — already pummelled by fierce Asian competition and weak demand at home — is to developments abroad. BMW said it now expects an operating margin in its core automotive segment of between 1% to 3%, down from 4% to 6% previously, as well as a slight decrease in core deliveries in 2026, having previously expected them to be on par.