BMW is set to flood the market with its biggest model onslaught ever in just two years. In total there will be 40 models to be presented.
If only a few days ago we were talking about cutting some models from the (extensive) ranges of BMW and Mercedes-Benz, it has now become known that the Bavarian brand is preparing to launch 40 models in just two years.
The logic behind this apparent schizophrenia is simple: most of the 40 models announced are, predictably, replacements for models already on sale. Although BMW currently has a fairly extensive range, it will continue to grow in the near term, as we have yet to see any previously planned and announced models arrive.
We can see this offensive as a reaction to the decline in the brand's profitability in 2016 and the loss of the best-selling premium builder crown globally. But this last statement is subject to different interpretations. On the one hand, Mercedes-Benz claims to have become the leader in 2016, dethroning BMW, which is true. On the other hand, if we look at the results by group, BMW remains at the front, integrating Mini and Rolls-Royce into the accounts.
Regardless of the point of view, the objective of such demand is not just to increase sales, but rather to recover profitability. To this end, the focus during the 2017-18 biennium will be directed towards larger models and SUVs, where more appealing margins reside.
What news is coming?
The 40 models include all the brands of the group and include both new models and variants of existing models. The beginning of this “attack” began with the arrival on the markets of the new BMW 5 Series and 5 Series Touring.
Among the absolute novelties, the BMW X2 (BMW X2 Concept in the images) and the huge BMW X7 stand out, which will offer more space in the third row of seats compared to the X5. Huge, even colossal, will be the Rolls-Royce proposals: the Cullinan, an unprecedented SUV of the British luxury brand, and the successor to the Phantom.
In the field of sporting proposals we will see the successor of the Z4. The roadster is the result of a partnership between BMW and Toyota (which will introduce the new Supra). Not departing from the roadster theme, the i8 Spyder will finally be known in its definitive form.
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Moving up a few levels, we will soon see the return of the 8 Series. The new model will be part of the brand's increased commitment to luxury, after the somewhat disappointing results of the new BMW 7 Series compared to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. At the moment only the coupé version is confirmed, but a convertible should complement it.We ended the same way we started, that is, with two more SUVs. Later this year, we'll meet the successors of the X3 and X5, with an emphasis on the X3, which should receive the unprecedented M version, taking into account the camouflaged prototypes that were sighted at the Nürburgring.