BMW 5 Series Price Cuts to About RMB 280,000 in China as BBA Sales Slip 20% in H1 2026

The official guide price for the BMW 5 Series is RMB 368,000, with an installment purchase bare-car discount price of about RMB 280,000. The BMW 3 Series starting price has dropped to RMB 258,000, after previously reaching RMB 400,000 on the road. In early 2026, BMW China's official website cut guide prices for 31 models, with the largest reduction reaching RMB 301,000. Mercedes-Benz subsequently adjusted prices for its on-sale models on its official website, with reductions of about 10%. Audi did not make official price adjustments, but the new Audi A6L launched in March 2026 with a starting price of RMB 322,900, lowering the price threshold by RMB 100,000 compared with the previous generation.

Terminal market discounts have also expanded. The BMW X3 and 3 Series offer terminal discounts of about RMB 50,000, while the 5 Series discount is close to RMB 100,000. For mainstream models such as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Audi A6L, the maximum reductions exceed RMB 100,000, with the 2026 Mercedes-Benz E 300 L Premium version seeing a maximum cut of over RMB 200,000, and the Audi A6L 2026 45 TFSI Premium Dynamic version down by about RMB 170,000. High-end models such as the Audi Q7, BMW 7 Series, and Mercedes-Benz GLE offer maximum discounts of more than RMB 200,000. Some dealers also provide key-account discounts, with employees of partner companies receiving additional subsidies of several thousand to RMB 10,000.

In the first half of 2026, BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz sold 262,000, 233,000, and 210,000 vehicles respectively in China, with year-on-year declines of about 20% each. One dealer store's monthly sales have halved from a peak of more than 100 vehicles. Since 2025, many traditional luxury 4S stores have closed or converted to new-energy vehicle brands.

The price band has shifted downward overall. The BMW 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and Audi A6L previously had starting prices above RMB 400,000, but now fall in the RMB 300,000-400,000 range; the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and Audi A4 have starting prices in the RMB 200,000 range. In the first half of 2026, sales of models priced between RMB 300,000 and 400,000 fell by 96,800 units, down 13.6% year on year. The BMW X3 lost 10,100 units in that segment, but total sales for the model line rose from 30,700 to 39,000 units, with sales in the RMB 250,000-300,000 range climbing from 7,100 to 25,400 units, and the average transaction price dropping from RMB 319,500 to RMB 292,000. For the Mercedes-Benz E-Class petrol version, all 60,000 units sold in the first half of 2025 were in the RMB 400,000-500,000 range; in the first half of 2026, all 61,600 units fell into the RMB 300,000-400,000 range, with the average transaction price down from RMB 439,900 to RMB 383,300. The Audi A6 lost 19,400 units in the RMB 300,000-400,000 segment, the BMW 5 Series lost 12,200 units, and the Mercedes-Benz GLC lost 10,600 units.

New-energy models such as the Aito M7 pure electric and extended-range versions and the Zeekr 8X have brought incremental sales.

New-energy vehicle makers also face price pressure. The Li Auto L7 exited 29,000 units from the RMB 300,000-400,000 range, while the Li Auto L8 lost 26,300 units in that segment; the weighted average transaction prices for the two models fell to RMB 283,900 and RMB 298,900 respectively. BBA is accelerating its transformation: Audi has launched its AUDI-brand electric vehicles, Mercedes-Benz is rolling out electric models built on a new platform, and BMW's Neue Klasse models are about to be produced locally in China.