BMW AIMS TO REIGNITE SALES WITH NEW SUV MODELS
BMW, which has been losing ground in the US luxury market to Mercedes, is hoping to turn the tide with a spate of new SUV offerings.
At the Detroit Auto Show on Monday, the Bavarian auto giant presented for the first time its new model X2, a smaller SUV – part of a series of six new and upgraded SUV models the company is counting on to reignite growth in the US.
BMW in 2017 held on to its crown as the top global luxury carmaker ahead of Mercedes, thanks to strong gains by its British brand Mini.
But not counting the Mini, BMW-branded car sales have lagged those of Mercedes globally since 2016, and the situation has been especially severe in the US, a key market for all luxury brands.
BMW, together with Mini, sold 405,000 cars in the US in 2015 – about 30,000 more than Mercedes that year.
But after declining two years in a row, BMW sales last year came in at 354,000, almost 20,000 below Mercedes.
BMW Group chief financial officer Nicolas Peter told reporters the drop was due to a refresh of its US fleet and expressed confidence in a turnaround.
“We believe we’ll see a slight growth in the US market in 2018,” Mr Peter said, pointing to the new SUV line-up and greater supply of the popular Five series of luxury sedans.
The new offerings come as BMW finds itself competing not just with traditional rivals such as Mercedes, Toyota’s Lexus and rising Volkswagen brand Audi, but also Tesla.