Even money for BMW model numbering

There's nothing concrete to support the supposition BMW will field new models named '2 Series' or '4 Series' — but that's not to say it won't happen.

The rumours surfaced recently in UK publication Autocar, and possibly as a consequence of BMW's aim to sell two million cars a year by 2020. Since the industry generally expects the growth between now and 2020 to come mostly from smaller cars — and BMW Chairman Norbert Reithofer has nailed his colours to that particular mast — some are now speculating that these new, small cars will need to be distinguished from the existing 1 and 3 Series models through use of model family numbers, 2 and 4.

"The company is actively considering a nomenclature change," MD for BMW Australia, Phil Horton, told Aussie journalists earlier in the week.

"There is active consideration of using even numbers, which we currently don't use," Horton continued, but admitted that he and his management team in Australia would be among the last to hear the outcome of these deliberations.

Even numbers are not unprecedented in BMW's history. There's the 6 Series large coupe and convertible models, for a start, and the 8 Series coupe sold in Australia throughout the 1990s too.

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