BMW Follows the Road Well Traveled
Although I usually put a focus on the mainstream in my columns, a recent news item has me thinking about a company that generally resides at the lower end of the sales spectrum: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG.
The thing is, I've got a bit of a weakness for BMW. Like a fair number of enthusiasts who grew up in the late 1960s/early 1970s, I looked on the classic BMW 2002 with lust in my heart. The 2002 had a remarkably clean shape that didn't scream for attention, great handling, and impressive-for-its-time performance, all in a tidy package that was just a few inches bigger and a few pounds lighter than today's Honda Fit. Plus, BMW wasn't exactly a mainstream brand back then.
Flash forward a few decades and, despite its apparent ubiquity here in southeast Michigan, BMW still sold just 16,744 vehicles in the U.S. in June and 93,563 units during the first half of 2008. On the other hand, this represented year-over-year declines of 20 percent and 28.9 percent, respectively, so the company's actually seeing above-average results in the U.S.
Globally, the OEM saw sales fall off 13.4 percent last month to 105,220, capping off a six-month period in which BMW sold 513,591 vehicles, a decline of 19.4 percent.
To put this in different terms, BMW's global sales are just about on par with Honda's U.S. numbers.
Based on this, you might think that a lineup of nine different models spanning 43 different variants'”from the 128i coupe to the X6 xDrive50i '” would be just fine. Unless you worked for BMW, that is.
In which case you would announce that, by the 2012 model year, the BMW 3 Series alone would add a hatchback, models packing a new four-cylinder turbocharged powerplant, and a hybrid to the mix. Oh, and did I mention BMW would also be bringing out a compact SUV, too? The new X1?
Now, some of this makes sense, especially the addition of the new engine, which I'm sure will get ye olde "power of a six, gas mileage of a four" treatment. But then you start getting into things that I'm not sure a small company with limited resources should get into. I mean, I guess I can see the point of the hybrid, since BMW has already invested a nice chunk of cash in the technology via a partnership with GM, Daimler and Chrysler. But that also means BMW, a strong supporter of diesels, will be spreading its powertrain resources across three different technologies.
Then, put one of those hybrids in the 3 Series GT (the hatchback) or its big brother, the 5 Series GT, and you're suddenly looking at a BMW Prius. Yes, I'm sure the BMW folks will say the GT silhouette is borrowed from the ungainly X6, but trust me, your eyes will say Prius.
Plus, with the addition of the X1, BMW will be selling three SUV-type vehicles, four if you count that X6 thing '” exactly the same number offered by GMC. And I imagine the only thing stopping the Bavarians from offering their version of the Fit here is the fact that they own MINI, which has that part of the market covered for BMW. For now.
Which, I suppose, finally brings me to my point: If it looks like BMW is running a German version of the GM playbook, the one bringing Toyota to grief, that's because it is. In the auto industry, overreaching one's grasp isn't strictly an American problem. It seems to be a pretty standard mindset, and one that has been a surprisingly large contributor to the industry's cyclical nature.