Long wait for BMW Z4 replacement

BMW has confirmed it will make a successor to the Z4 roadster but we might have to wait until 2020 for it to arrive, according to a new interview with BMW’s new R&D boss, Klaus Frohlich.

Speaking to Automotive news, Frohlich said:

“I would like to see a Z4 successor in this decade”.

Confirming the replacement for the Z4 had been delayed Frohlich went on to say: “If you look at the volume … we have to realise that these segments are shrinking,” adding that “[car buyers in China] are not interested in roadsters”.

As already reported by motoring.com.au last November the new replacement for the small sportscar is expected to be called the Z5 and will be a joint-venture with BMW’s new technical partner Toyota.

Celebrating its seventh year in production the current Z4 is near the end of its life. A concept for its replacement was originally expected at last month’s Geneva motor show but now it seems those plans have been shelved and a tease for how a future Z5 might look could be at least 12 months away.

Z4 sales declined by 11 per cent to about 5,300 cars in Europe last year, according to data from JATO Dynamics, while in the US volumes have fallen by 13 per cent to just 2150 cars annually.

When the new Z5 finally arrives, the BMW sportscar is expected to share platforms, engines and plug-in hybrid technology.

Toyota is expected to handle the electronics work and body construction while BMW will develop engines and manufacture the Toyota-designed electric motors. The German car maker is also expected to use its carbon-fibre know-how from its i-car program to cut weight.

Since European demand for convertibles has halved since 2008, some are predicting BMW will also ditch the Z4's weighty folding hard-top and for the future Z5 to be a more conventional coupe instead.