BMW BLOG

This article was written by Mohammed, first time contributor to our blog.

With news earlier this week about BMW making the Z2 and 6er GT and Supersports version of the 3er it got me thinking about how BMW is expanding its lineup and what sort of methodology are they using.

In the mid 90’s, BMW had only a couple of cars in its lineup: the 3er, 5er, 7er, a Z car and the 8 Series. Now we have SAV, SAC, PAS and we don’t know what the else BMW has in the works.

I believe BMW is still using the same kind of line up they had back then, but it only expanded to accommodate different needs within the same lineup. You have to remember that young fans and BMW owners of the 80’s and 90’s have grown up and have families and implicitly other needs.

The brand has grown to accommodate all these needs while still keeping cars in the lineup that appeal to the younger generation and new fans of the brand. That’s why when the 3er got bigger when the new 1 Series Coupe was introduced.

Here is how I think BMW views its lineup today:

Z Family: Z2, Z4
1er Family: Hatch, Coupe/Convertible and SAV
3er Family: Touring, Sedan, Coupe/Convertible, GT and SAV
5er Family: Touring, Sedan, GT and SAV
6er Family: Coupe/Convertible, GT and SAC
7er Family: Sedan Long and Short.

All these models are doing a fairly good job covering most of the luxury segments in the current market and most important, reaching out to a larger demographic which brings new customers to the brand.

The only thing they are missing right now is a high-end luxury model that will be able to compete with respectable brands like Maseratti or Aston Martin. The CS Concept would have been the ideal choice, but…..you know the rest of the story.