BMW, Mini Plot Small Car Assault
Fuel saving, city friendly small cars are the new domain of luxury car brands such as BMW. BMW’s small car strategy is taking shape and will include electric vehicles, three-cylinder engines and an expansive Mini family.
The company is set to launch several new city-friendly models over the next three years with a core focus on reducing fuel use; in the case of electric models such as the upcoming i-Series electric city car there won’t be any fuel use and, therefore, zero carbon dioxide emissions.
BMW’s i-Series range will give the German company another unique selling point. The all-electric i-Series is expected to retain the BMW badge despite essentially being a brand in its own right, which will be spearheaded by the city-sized i3 hatchback, which insiders suggest will have a boxier, chunkier shape than other BMWs.
The plug-in light car is expected to offer a 160km range from its battery bank, while its electric motor will mimic most current BMW-badged models by sending its power to the i3’s rear wheels.
The move to dominate the small car end of the market is in contrast to the traditional positioning of the BMW brand. As with arch rival Mercedes-Benz, BMW’s luxury reputation has been largely build on larger limousines or bruising performance cars.
But in line with a trend towards smaller vehicles and increased demand from younger buyers BMW is planning a gargantuan assault of micro proportions.
Like other luxury makers – Mercedes-Benz has the A- and B-Class and Audi the A1 and A3 – it’s a necessary move to ensure sales keep growing. Sales of BMW’s larger models have dropped in recent years as buyers shift towards luxury off-roaders or smaller cars.
So far this year BMW has sold only 65 of its 7-Series limousines, compared to 134 units for the same period five years ago – a drop of 106 per cent despite an overall sales increase of 7.5 per cent.
Year-on-year sales don’t show as dramatic a fall (253 in 2010 versus 279 in 2005) but it’s a trend repeated throughout the large limousine rivals. In 2010 the Mercedes-Benz S-Class accounted for 253 sales versus 578 in 2006 (when a new model arrived) and 199 in 2005.
Jaguar’s XJ has also seen sales plummet despite the arrival of an all new model the brand claims “establishes a new benchmark for its class”. The more mainstream BMW 5-Series range has suffered a less dramatic decline, selling 560 units to May 2011 compared to 792 sales to May 2006 (a 41 per cent decline) but it’s still representative of a trend away from larger luxury sedans.
BMW spokeswoman Michelle Lang says the brand was aware of the shift towards smaller premium cars years ago, and the success of its 1-Series range is testament to that urge to downsize.
“BMW identified the trend for smaller vehicles many years ago, hence the introduction of the successful 1-Series range,” Lang says. “The 1-Series customer comprises 80 per cent conquest business – people who have never bought a BMW before – plus 80 per cent of those conquest customers have never bought a premium vehicle before.”
Lang says the premium small car segment offers buyers economy and efficiency, but not at the expense of technology or luxury. BMW’s all-new 1-Series is set to be powered by a range of more efficient turbocharged four-cylinder engines when it arrives later this year. A three-cylinder version will follow.
BMW’s Mini brand will evolve to offer several additional models, including the sleek-roofed Coupe (it’s due to arrive late this year) and a new Roadster convertible version set to follow later down the track.
Other future models for Mini are likely to include a new smaller hatch (likely to arrive in 2014) and a new two-door variant of its Countryman SUV (likely to arrive by 2013).
Mini spokesman Piers Scott told Drive this week that Mini is in a unique position that allows the brand to offer a diverse range of models without tarnishing its badge credibility.
Scott denies it is a challenge for a retro-inspired brand such as Mini to sustain buyer interest, instead suggesting that rivals such as Audi’s recently introduced A1 city car face a more difficult challenge.
“In a way it's much easier for Mini to keep things fresh because it is a brand first and foremost,” Scott says. “If you think about how you keep a brand like the A1 fresh and relevant when every other product you launch under the Audi brand is having an impact on that brand.
“In the case of Mini, you can be a lot more nimble [with the brand]. It's not trying to be all things to all people. It's very nailed down in terms of who the target profile is, and the lifestyle proposition it offers. It is very urban and very unique,” Scott says.
The company is set to launch several new city-friendly models over the next three years with a core focus on reducing fuel use; in the case of electric models such as the upcoming i-Series electric city car there won’t be any fuel use and, therefore, zero carbon dioxide emissions.
BMW’s i-Series range will give the German company another unique selling point. The all-electric i-Series is expected to retain the BMW badge despite essentially being a brand in its own right, which will be spearheaded by the city-sized i3 hatchback, which insiders suggest will have a boxier, chunkier shape than other BMWs.
The plug-in light car is expected to offer a 160km range from its battery bank, while its electric motor will mimic most current BMW-badged models by sending its power to the i3’s rear wheels.
The move to dominate the small car end of the market is in contrast to the traditional positioning of the BMW brand. As with arch rival Mercedes-Benz, BMW’s luxury reputation has been largely build on larger limousines or bruising performance cars.
But in line with a trend towards smaller vehicles and increased demand from younger buyers BMW is planning a gargantuan assault of micro proportions.
Like other luxury makers – Mercedes-Benz has the A- and B-Class and Audi the A1 and A3 – it’s a necessary move to ensure sales keep growing. Sales of BMW’s larger models have dropped in recent years as buyers shift towards luxury off-roaders or smaller cars.
So far this year BMW has sold only 65 of its 7-Series limousines, compared to 134 units for the same period five years ago – a drop of 106 per cent despite an overall sales increase of 7.5 per cent.
Year-on-year sales don’t show as dramatic a fall (253 in 2010 versus 279 in 2005) but it’s a trend repeated throughout the large limousine rivals. In 2010 the Mercedes-Benz S-Class accounted for 253 sales versus 578 in 2006 (when a new model arrived) and 199 in 2005.
Jaguar’s XJ has also seen sales plummet despite the arrival of an all new model the brand claims “establishes a new benchmark for its class”. The more mainstream BMW 5-Series range has suffered a less dramatic decline, selling 560 units to May 2011 compared to 792 sales to May 2006 (a 41 per cent decline) but it’s still representative of a trend away from larger luxury sedans.
BMW spokeswoman Michelle Lang says the brand was aware of the shift towards smaller premium cars years ago, and the success of its 1-Series range is testament to that urge to downsize.
“BMW identified the trend for smaller vehicles many years ago, hence the introduction of the successful 1-Series range,” Lang says. “The 1-Series customer comprises 80 per cent conquest business – people who have never bought a BMW before – plus 80 per cent of those conquest customers have never bought a premium vehicle before.”
Lang says the premium small car segment offers buyers economy and efficiency, but not at the expense of technology or luxury. BMW’s all-new 1-Series is set to be powered by a range of more efficient turbocharged four-cylinder engines when it arrives later this year. A three-cylinder version will follow.
BMW’s Mini brand will evolve to offer several additional models, including the sleek-roofed Coupe (it’s due to arrive late this year) and a new Roadster convertible version set to follow later down the track.
Other future models for Mini are likely to include a new smaller hatch (likely to arrive in 2014) and a new two-door variant of its Countryman SUV (likely to arrive by 2013).
Mini spokesman Piers Scott told Drive this week that Mini is in a unique position that allows the brand to offer a diverse range of models without tarnishing its badge credibility.
Scott denies it is a challenge for a retro-inspired brand such as Mini to sustain buyer interest, instead suggesting that rivals such as Audi’s recently introduced A1 city car face a more difficult challenge.
“In a way it's much easier for Mini to keep things fresh because it is a brand first and foremost,” Scott says. “If you think about how you keep a brand like the A1 fresh and relevant when every other product you launch under the Audi brand is having an impact on that brand.
“In the case of Mini, you can be a lot more nimble [with the brand]. It's not trying to be all things to all people. It's very nailed down in terms of who the target profile is, and the lifestyle proposition it offers. It is very urban and very unique,” Scott says.
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