Electric vehicle sales in China transform auto market

FILE - Visitors look at vehicles at the BMW booth at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, or Auto China 2024, in Beijing, April 25, 2024. The company has cut its profit margin forecast in part because of sluggish demand in China. FILE - A BYD Seal electric vehicle is displayed at a car dealership in Shanghai, China, Feb. 3, 2023. An employee works on a new energy vehicle production line at a BYD factory in Huaian, Jiangsu province, China, Aug. 26, 2024. (China Daily via Reuters)

German luxury automaker BMW’s announcement this week that it was cutting its profit margin forecast in part because of sluggish demand in China was the latest example of what analysts say is a broader trend: the impact electric vehicles are having on auto sales in world's biggest market for cars.