FRANKFURT—BMW reported a smaller-than-expected 6 percent decline in second quarter operating profit on Thursday while brushing off concerns about new anti-pollution rules and trade tensions which caused rival Daimler to warn on profits.
The German carmaker said higher spending to develop electric and autonomous cars and currency headwinds weighed on earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), which fell to 2.74 billion euros ($3.19 billion) but topped the 2.69 billion expected by analysts.
