BMW confirms front-drive future
Chairman announces that future small cars from the Bavarian brand will be 'bum-draggers'Be advised: BMW will develop front-wheel drive cars in the near future. We reported the rumour last week, but it's now official. The company's Chairman of the Board, Norbert Reithofer has confirmed as much in his speech addressing the Annual Accounts Press Conference.
Mostly the speech focused on the company's business strategy and its positive outlook in the immediate short term -- as a consequence of careful management of resources during the Global Financial Crisis -- but buried in his words was this gem: BMW acknowledges that there are cost savings in adopting front-wheel drive for small cars and it's the way forward for the company to remain profitable in this end of the market.
"We are exploring the possibility of developing a joint architecture for the front and four-wheel drive systems of these cars," he said.
"In other words: There will be front-wheel drive BMWs in the smaller vehicle classes in the future. We all know that the cost structure in the small car segment is different from that of the larger model classes. We intend to grow profitably in this segment as well."
Plainly, with BMW's four-wheel drive expertise, as in the X3 and X5, it already knows how to package a car with drivetrain components running to the front wheels, but the manufacturer is not known for transverse-engine-mounting applications. Perhaps that's where MINI will enter the picture. Reithofer more or less insinuated this with his following remarks.
"Because there is one element that applies to the entire process chain: We will increasingly apply modular manufacturing kits to various models and brands. This approach enables us to cut costs further -- without compromising on top quality."
The German manufacturers are blazing their own trails when it comes to tailoring brand image to encompass 'non-heritage' product. Porsche is building the Cayenne and Panamera, Audi is building the R8, Benz is building A and B-Class. BMW itself first raised a few eyebrows when it introduced an SUV, the X5, so developing a small car with front-wheel drive is probably not going to be the end of civilisation as we know it.
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