View Single Post
      02-19-2010, 06:42 PM   #9
SCOTT26
Major General
SCOTT26's Avatar
5311
Rep
5,824
Posts

Drives: A big F-off German Truck.
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: WORLDWIDE

iTrader: (0)

It is purely down to customer demand and changing trend within luxury cars.
Last year BMW put out a memo to each of it's worldwide distributors to identify vehicles that have declined in sales and it is not just engine variants but model lines.

BMW's demographic is changing and that in the USA a greater amount of BMW's are ordered with automatic transmission with a gradually decreasing amount of consumers ordering manual transmissions. Even with MINI the best selling MINI Cooper is with the automatic transmission.
But specific model lines are also in steep decline.

In the middle of last year BMW AG put out a request to each of it's worldwide operations to identify engine variants or model lines in which sales have drastically declined. But countries across the world will be losing engines and model lines sooner rather than later.

The 5er Touring (E61) in North America is one such vehicle. Whether the F11 will come to North America is undecided at this moment. But many are in favour of The 5er Gran Turismo which will offer xDrive and a 535i model to effectively replace the Touring.

The marketing "An Exploration of Space" which is currently underway in ready for a release expected in May/June are not preparing any US led promotions for the Touring. In Europe the E61 has been a success and in the close out continues to be so with significant deals and packages.
An 520d Touring (E61) will still be showcased alongside the new BMW 5er sedan at the upcoming Geneva motor show.

The M5 Touring has also contributed the rise of M sales since it's introduction with many owners surpassing the sedan for the sheer thrust and flexibility of the Touring model without the loss of excitement you would expect from an
M5.
Appreciate 0