BMW is cutting its 150-strong UK network by 17 according to German executives at the company.

AM reported that up to 20 dealers were privately told they had lost their contracts in its March 21 issue, but BMW is still keeping tight lipped on which dealers have been axed despite announcing official numbers in Munich.

BMW gave its formal six-month termination notice of the franchise agreements to coincide with the end of five-year agreements under Block Exemption rules.

A spokesman for BMW said the dealer networks were reviewed on a case-by-case basis and that "some BMW contracts might be taken over by another dealership and some would stay as service providers".

BMW's German franchised dealer network has also been reduced by 30, down from 320.

The news follows a Q1 loss in pre- tax profits of 24.8% to €641m (£506m). However, the company said it was still confident of posting higher profits this year than it did in 2007.