BMW says trade war could hit 2019 results by $580 million

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German carmaker BMW expects a hit to earnings of up to half a billion euros ($579 million) next year if tariffs between the United States and China remain in place, Chief Financial Officer Nicolas Peter told Automobilwoche magazine.

Tariffs between the United States and China have knocked exports of sport-utility vehicles from its U.S. plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, to China, resulting in a hit to earnings of just below 300 million euros, Peter said, according to an extract of an article due to be published on Oct. 13.

"If the tariffs remain in 2019, it could have a full-year impact of half a billion euros," Peter added.

In September, BMW cut its financial guidance, saying it now expected pre-tax profit to fall this year, blaming the trade war between China and the United States and a price war in the car market. (Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Mark Potter)