3 Series customers' serious wait

Buyers of BMW's new 3 Series have a few months' wait but the local outfit is hoping the recent 318d and 320i additions will help ease wait-times, especially for the 328i model.

"Although the car has started very well with the limited engine range that it's had, clearly we're expecting great things from these two engines," said BMW Australia's Managing Director, Phil Horton.

Over the life cycle of the previous generation model, the 320i accounted for more than 50 per cent of sales, said Mr Horton. Figures "balanced out a little bit" later with the 320d. In its 'last' year, the E90 320i accounted for 40 per cent.

"Clearly, it's a significant volume driver for us. What we're already seeing in the [four-cylinder] cars we do have available now [328i, 320d] is that the N20 engine really hits the sweet spot."

So much so that the 328i is sold out for four to five months, admitted Mr Horton. "What's not good is that we have customers who have to wait for cars and one of the things I've discovered about the Australian market is that customers don't like waiting for cars, even when they're coming from 10,000 miles away.

"We're doing everything we can to increase the [number of] 328s and now that the 320i is arriving as well I think we'll see that balance out."

Mr Horton is aware how well the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class has sold, especially as the brand has had its full range available for a while, but "now that we will start to have our [full] range in the market you'll start to see a balance between us and Mercedes."

BMW is under no illusions the 3 Series will outsell the C-Class, however. "That's a tough ask for us," he admitted. The 320i is one of BMW Australia's "focus models" but the all-new addition of the 318d to the local lineup makes the company "optimistic that it brings us in with a very fuel efficient car, at a very keen price."

Mr Horton doesn't anticipate a supply issue for the 318d. One of the reasons, he said, was that the automotive market in Europe had gone soft, particularly in southern Europe.

"If there's any benefit to that for the company, it means that we can free-up supply for other parts of the world."

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