PARIS MOTOR SHOW: Almost half of all BMW sales to be front-drive

Concept Active Tourer the first of up to 24 new BMW Group models to be based on UKL1 platform

After being known as the sportiest brand in the mainstream automotive world for its entire life, up to 40 per cent of vehicles sold by BMW will soon be front-wheel drive.

The Concept Active Tourer (CAT) people mover that debuted at last week’s Paris motor show will be just the first of 12 upcoming BMW models to be underpinned by the Bavarian brand’s vital new front- and all-wheel drive compact car platform, codenamed UKL1.

Combined with as many as 12 further models from MINI, the new chassis architecture will form the basis of up to 24 BMW Group models, accounting for around 800,000 of the two million vehicles it aims to sell annually by 2020.

“What we are looking at with this concept is to broaden our footprint in the compact segment,” BMW Vice-President Product and Service Planning, Frank Niederländer, told motoring.com.au. “There is potential in the premium segment, which has not been developed yet and that’s the target with this architecture. This is a long-term ambition.

“We are talking about eight possible models that could be based off this architecture from MINI and 12 from BMW, so you have a variety of 20 new models based on one architecture.”

The high-roofed CAT concept, which could be badged as the 1 Series GT when it hits showrooms, is expected to enter production soon as BMW’s first people mover – and first front-drive model. But the other 11 UKL1-based BMW models are likely to include the entire next generation of 1 Series models due around 2017 (comprising three- and five-door hatch, sedan and perhaps wagon body styles), subsequent 2 Series coupe and convertibles, and future X1 and X2 crossovers, leaving three other mystery models.

Meantime, global MINI boss Kay Segler told motoring.com.au earlier this month that the next-generation MINI range (due to emerge from 2014) could grow to include as many as 12 separate models – up from a current seven, including hatch, cabrio, wagon, coupe, roadster, SUV and SUV-coupe (Paceman) models – suggesting up to five new MINI models.

“We have seven models now,” he said at the time. “If we sit here in 10 years again maybe we have at least 10 models, ideally, and probably one or two more than 10.

“A sedan is a substantial idea which could work out, especially for markets like China and the US, and it would not be the first MINI sedan in history. There are other ideas too. There is enough flexibility in the UKL architecture to do 10 models or more, just in MINI.

“There is a huge potential for more models but we should not introduce more than one model a year and the new hatch is due in 2014,” he confirmed.

Dr Niederländer, who helped develop the Rover 75 and BMW’s first MINI, said the CAT was the right car for BMW at the right time.

“This is a concept which is close to production,” he said. “I can’t tell you the exact launch date but it will be a model that will be launched in the near future. It is based on a new compact architecture which has no predecessor right now. There is a growing market for compact premium cars with a lot of room and comfort and a higher seating position and based on that we decided this would be the best kind of architecture to fulfil those requirements.

“We have decided on the layout, which will be a transverse engine with a long wheelbase, and there will be a typical BMW approach to it, so the focus will be on the design of the car with great proportions. The relationship between the engine and packaging are perfect with this layout, so we decided to change it into this direction. But we have done it in a BMW way, with short overhangs, sporty proportions and wheels at the corners of the car, all of which are new aspects which you don’t find in the market right now.

“The important target with a concept like this is to get new customers to the brand. It is a perfect fit for BMW and it will deliver the sportiness BMW is known for.”

Dr Niederländer said BMW’s direct rival for the Mercedes-Benz B-Class would suit the lifestyles of a wide range of customers, but would not be drawn on the CAT’s eventual nameplate.

“It will target active people, even in their later life stages. The name is under discussion – it’s not decided,” he said.

The man behind the CAT concept said the current rear-drive 1 Series, which replaced the original last year, would not migrate to the UKL platform any time soon.

“The priority is not the cars we have currently have but the new cars we are planning to bring to the market. 1 Series is not the focus right now, because it’s new,” he said. If you develop an architecture it’s not for a short period of time but to manage your long-term position, so it’s a question of life cycles and sequencing and when is the right time to change a product to this kind of car.”

Asked if the next-generation 1 Series would be UKL-based, Dr Niederländer said: “This is when it’s possible.”

Dr Niederländer insisted BMW could still offer sheer driving pleasure with a front-drive layout.

“The big question I’ve been asked in the past days is how we can imagine front-wheel drive works for BMW,” said Dr Niederländer. “What you’ve seen with MINI is that you can make front-wheel drive fun to drive with direct response, a connection from the driver to the road, and this is a very important ingredient if you try to develop a BMW, even if the feeling is completely different.

“We have done that with a range of MINI models, even with the Countryman with its higher centre of gravity, and the goal is to develop that even further than today.”

Dr Niederländer confirmed that extensive research by BMW showed the vast majority of 1 Series drivers did not know or care which wheels their cars drove.

“We did it because when you’re famous for your rear-wheel drive cars you need to ensure that when looking at such a change you need to be clear about understanding what people look at,” he said. “Especially in the lower (vehicle) classes people know less about the drive concept than in the other classes. We have taken the decision on that.”

Asked when he thought customers would accept a front-drive BMW coupe or convertible, Dr Niederländer said: “It’s hard to say”.

UKL-based BMW and MINI models will be powered exclusively by turbocharged transverse 1.5-litre three and four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, as well as the CAT’s ‘eDrive’ plug-in hybrid system, which is claimed to consume less than 2.5L/100km and emit under 60g/km of CO2.

As such, they are a central part of BMW’s goal to reduce its European fleet-average CO2 emissions by 25 per cent between 2008 and 2020 – on top of the 25 per cent drop it achieved between 1995 and 2008. Dr Niederländer said 40 per cent of all BMW Group models sold – including MINIs, about 240,000 of which found homes last year – will eventually be based on the UKL platform, which can spawn vehicles up to 4.5 metres long and more than 1.8 metres wide.

For the record, the five-seat CAT is similar in size to the B-Class at 4353mm long, 1834mm wide and 1560mm high. It rides on a 2760mm wheelbase and its more commodious front-drive packaging includes front seats as high as the X1’s and more rear leg, head and cargo room than the 1 Series.

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PARIS MOTOR SHOW: Almost half of all BMW sales to be front-drive

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