"The second half of the year could be more volatile for the BMW Group on account of various risks, such as risks for prices for raw materials and the supply of semiconductors," chief executive Oliver Zipse said from the company's Munich headquarters.
For the year as a whole, the automotive unit should retain 9 per cent of turnover as profit before interest and taxes, after recording an earnings margin of as much as 13 per cent in the first half.
Other German manufacturers have expressed similar concerns, with Daimler reducing its sales forecasts and Audi predicting production losses and short-time working, dpa reports.
During the first half, BMW sold 1.34 million cars, surpassing rival Mercedes-Benz. Turnover rose 28 per cent on the same quarter last year, which was badly hit by the pandemic and global lockdowns, to 55.4 billion euros.
Pre-tax profits came in at 9.7 billion euros, following half a billion in the first half of last year. Around half a billion euros came from liquidated reserves in relation to a cartel case brought by the European Union, where the fine of 373 million euros was lower than feared.
BMW said it would achieve its targets for the year with a slight decline in staff. The number of employees has fallen 4 per cent since January to 120,726.
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