More M models coming: BMW

BMW says it will expand its 10-strong M-car range over the coming years, with ‘mainstream’ SUV models the most likely additions.

Speaking to motoring.com.au this week, BMW vice-president of sales and marketing for BMW’s M division, Peter Quintus, said Australian buyers are an important consideration for the development of future M models, ranking fifth in global sales.

“We are very happy with the Australian market,” said Quintus. “We’ve had a very big increase [in sales] over recent years, basically doubling sales of last year. It’s the perfect product for Australian buyers."

He said that Australian tastes – high-performance models with a high specification list – were of interest to engineers and designers when considering future variants, as was our preference for high-riding, hard-charging SUVs.

“When we see what our customers want, we give that feedback directly to Munich,” he affirmed. “Australia is the fifth-biggest market [for M cars] in the world, and Munich takes Australia’s feedback very seriously. We’re almost in daily contact.

“[More SUV models] make perfect sense,” he added. “And we will be looking in to that as part of our strategy moving forward in order to identify what opportunities actually exist to exploit that growing demand.”

Quintus was coy on just which model was next to receive M-ification, suggesting Australian sales were a good indication of where the brand is headed.

“If you look at the sales volumes of our regular models, I’m sure you can see where the potential is,” he said, hinting at the upcoming X3 M SUV. “Quite clearly there is potential in the SUV segment, and you will see in the near future some more M models.”

However, he was quick to caution that we shouldn’t expect a ‘rush’ of new M models. Any potential future M variant must adhere to the brand’s track-ready philosophy, said Quintus, who added that we shouldn’t expect an M derivative of every model in the BMW range to match the enormous Mercedes-AMG line-up while others -- like the V12-powered M760i xDrive -- will receive ‘only’ M Performance treatment.

“We have a little bit of a different philosophy than that of some of our competitors,” he cautioned. “If you look at the current situation we have just 10 derivatives on the M side, the other competitors have double that number. Even so we have been able to make the same [sales] volume as our main competitor; so our philosophy is not to make every possible variant [an M car].”

As well as strong sales on the M side of the fence, BMW Australia is also experiencing solid sales of M Performance variants (those with an M prefix ahead of the regular three-digit nomenclature), which are effectively rivals for Mercedes-AMG's V6 turbo-powered '43' models. But Quintus is convinced more can be done.

“Part of our strategy is to expand the BMW M Performance portfolio,” he continued. “As we’ve seen from our competitors [which also include Audi's S Line products] there is a little more we could do.

“At the moment, M Performance has not been fully understood by the public – even our own customers – so I think we have a good concept, but need to do a better job of communicating what M Performance is all about,” he concluded.

Cumulative sales of BMW M models in 2016 are up 43.9 per cent on last year, with year-to-date sales at 1242 units. The M3 sedan leads the pack with 399 sales, ahead of motoring.com.au Australia’s Best Driver’s Car of 2016, the M2 (269 units) and M4 Coupe (261). The X5 M ranks in fourth place with 118 unit sales (see full model sales break-out below).

Meanwhile, on the M Performance side, it’s the pint-size M135i that led the charge early, its 239 sales accounting for almost one-in-three M Performance models sold. Showing the disparity mentioned by Quintus, cumulative M Performance sales year-to-date in 2016 tally just 706 – some 536 units behind ‘fully fledged’ M models.

BMW Australia M model sales year-to-date 2016:
M2 – 269 (new model)
M3 – 399 (up 80.5 per cent)
M4 Coupe – 261 (down 12.1 per cent)
M4 GTS – 1 (new model)
M4 Convertible – 57 (down 45.7 per cent)
M5 – 43 (down 6.5 per cent, new model due mid 2017)
M6 Coupe – 6 (up 100 per cent)
M6 Convertible – 2 (new model)
M6 Gran Coupe – 8 (down 33.3 per cent)
X5 M – 118 (up 4.4 per cent)
X6 M – 78 (up 21.9 per cent)

BMW Australia M Performance model sales year-to-date 2016:
M135i – 239 (up 20.7 per cent)
M140i – 37 (new model)
M235i Coupe – 162 (down 10.5 per cent)
M240i Coupe – 24 (new model)
M235i Convertible – 91 (down 12.5 per cent)
M240i Convertible – 5 (new model)
X5 M50D – 117 (down 17.6 per cent)
X6 M50D – 31 (down 55.1 per cent)