BMW shares fall to four-year low as recall of 1.5m cars announced

The Mini Cooper and Countryman are affected by the brake recall as well as models including the BMW X1, X2 and X5 and Rolls-Royce Sceptre. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

Shares in BMW tumbled as the carmaker revealed it will have to recall 1.5m vehicles over a braking problem, costing it almost €1bn (£0.84bn).

The German manufacturer said its annual earnings would be considerably lower than expected, with the fault in the braking system now discovered to be far more widespread than first thought.