FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2020 file photo, visitors gather near a BMW M8 model on display at the Auto China 2020 show in Beijing, China.
In figures released Thursday March 11, 2021, BMW saw profits fall by 23% last year as the pandemic shuttered factories in the early part of the year, but the company said Thursday that earnings bounced back strongly in the second half of 2020.
The maker of the X5 sport utility and 3-Series sedan said a strong second half meant it started 2021 with “a favorable tailwind.”Operating profits for the second half of last year were 9.8% higher than the second half of 2019.
The Munich-based company's sales were boosted by the early and strong economic recovery in China, where 2020 sales topped the year before by 7.4%.
The company said the order book for the Ghost is now full well into the second half of 2021.