BMW X5 to be short-cycled

BMW's third-generation X5 will be replaced as soon as next year, and its successor's new platform will form the basis of the all-new X7 seven-seater due in 2018, motoring.com.au has learned.

Combined with late last year's new X1 and redesigned X3, X4 and X6 models to come, BMW will renew its entire X-series SUV range — which accounts for a third of all BMWs sold globally and even more in Australia — within the next three years.

The Bavarian car-maker last month forecast the big new X7 will find 50,000 buyers annually worldwide from 2018, and Australia will be one of its largest markets.

Speaking to motoring.com.au at the MkII X1 local launch last October, BMW Group Australia managing director Marc Werner said the company's new seven-seat SUV flagship will be popular among Australian families looking for more space in a luxury SUV.

“The Australian team here has done a fantastic job in order to turn this into reality and the Australian market will be one of the biggest markets when it comes to the X7," he said.

"We do see a good opportunity for that car in Australia. It’s a logical next step for us… Even more space, even more functionality, even more presence. These things in particular are what Australian families demand.”

Although he wouldn't be drawn of specific launch dates, Werner this week said the X7 would follow a new X5, based on the same new Cluster Architecture (CLAR) platform that underpins the sixth-generation 7 Series limousine.

That means the current X5, which was launched in 2013 and is less than three years old, will be 'short-cycled' to make way for its volume-selling replacement, followed by the all-new X7 and new X3, X4 and X6 models also under development.

"The launch date of the all-new X5 is yet to be confirmed but if you look at the lifecycle of the product and the announcement that we made regarding the X7, we'll see an all-new X series product line-up in the coming years, so we're talking in the mid-term," he said.

Given that 30 per cent of current X5 customers tick the third-row option, Werner – who believes the take-up rate would be higher if there was more awareness of the option -- said there was clear demand for a larger seven-seat BMW SUV.

"The take-up rate of the third-row option on the X5 is considerably low," he said. "I personally believe it’s a matter of awareness or perception.

“Certainly from our market research, it very clearly tells us that there is room for an even bigger SUV in our product line-up, and that the feedback we receive from our customers is that they want more space,” Werner said.

Asked if the X7 could be BMW's top-selling X model, given the popularity of the X5 and its larger seven-seat rivals like the Audi Q7, Land Rover Discovery, Mercedes-Benz GLS (formerly GL) and Volvo XC90, Werner said:

“It's too early to say. If you look at the statistics from our competitors, it will suggest that the core will still be the X5 and the X7 will be an add-on.”

Produced in South Carolina alongside the X3 and X6, the X5 was Australia's most popular luxury SUV last year with almost 4200 sales, outselling smaller and cheaper premium crossovers like the former top-seller, Audi's Q5.

"It's quite amazing," said Werner. "[Sales of the] The first-generation E53 was very stable. The same thing happened with [MkII] E70 over its life cycle, which in its last two years actually outsold previous years. It seems the trend is continuing."

Werner said increased supply from the US, where the X7 will also be produced, had lifted BMW's SUV sales considerably this year, with sales up about 30 per cent overall in the first quarter – even compared to its record sales in 2015.

"We now have a better SUV supply from the US. We have the new [German-built] X1, which certainly helps us to deliver more cars to new customers in the segment."

The BMW Australia chief said the vast majority of X7 sales will be incremental, and would not steal customers from the X5.

Expected to be priced from north of $100,000, the X7 was shown under a semi-transparent cover in an image at BMW's annual press conference last month.

Reportedly codenamed 'F17', the all-new seven-seater is said to be more than half a metre longer than the current X5 yet is expected to weigh considerably less -- around 1900kg for the heaviest model – thanks to its aluminium-intensive structure and possibly even carbon-fibre body panels and parts.

Like the next X5, the X7 range will be powered by 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, a next-generation petrol V8, a plug-in hybrid variant offering more than 50km of electric range and perhaps even the 7 Series' 6.0-litre V12 in a range-topping rival for the Bentley Bentayga.

Expect a luxurious, comfort-biassed cabin that maximises middle-row legroom and brings a third row of seats that fold electrically into the floor when not in use.

BMW has sold about 3.5 million SUVs since the original X5 in 1999, and the X7 will bring the number of X models to six. Mercedes-Benz will soon also have six, while Audi currently has just three but will soon expand that number with the Q2.

BMW Australia will launch a number of new mode variants this year, including the 330e and X5 xDrive40e plug-in hybrids, the M4 GTS and more 7 Series models.

However, its next all-new model will be the 5 Series sedan, which is due to appear at the Paris motor show in October, before arriving Down Under early next year.

"We are getting ready for the launch of the all-new 5 Series, which most likely arrives here at the beginning of next year but let's see," said Werner, who predicted Australians' love affair with luxury cars and SUVs will continue.

"While the overall market is stagnating at 1.1 million, the demand for premium models continues to grow to new levels," he said.

"We predicted 100,000 cars last year and it went to 105,000, and I don't see any reason why the trend should not continue."

What's coming from BMW:
330e – May
X5 xDrive40e – May
M4 GTS – June
5 Series redesign – Early 2017
X5 redesign – Late 2017
X7 – 2018