Philosophically, BMW’s Z lineup began with the Z1 in the late ‘80s and grew to the volume-seller Z3 in the ‘90s. The cars are BMW’s take on the idea of a sporty roadster, but the line could end after this current generation Z4, a new report claims.
It’s been rough for BMW recently. In March, the automaker announced its plans to cut costs in order to shift to electric cars. And its CEO Harald Krueger just stepped down recently for allegedly failing to jump in earlier on the luxury EV market and losing BMW’s lead in luxury car sales. All this means that the cars that don’t pull in huge profits, cars like sports cars and roadsters, might get the axe.
Recently, Automobile Magazine’s Georg Kacher ran a story about what BMW’s execs need to do to pull in more profits in the face of a trade war, increased pressure to produce electrified vehicles and a general decline of sales in the automotive industry. An easy way to save money is to potentially cut under-performing models.
BMW, like Mercedes-Benz and Audi, is apparently finding it hard to profit on cars that cost less than €40,000 (about $45,000), Kacher claims, so the automaker has “established a list of doomed vehicles.”
Advertisement
From the story:
The rear-wheel-drive 1 Series, the 2 Series, and lower-trim 3 Series variants contribute very little if anything at all to the bottom line, and the company has established a list of doomed models. In addition to the three-door 1 Series, 2 Series Gran Tourer, and 3 Series GT, tombstones are being chiseled for the 2 Series convertible, standard-wheelbase 7 Series, Z4 replacement (sorry, Toyota), and both two-door 8 Series variants.
Advertisement
The outlet suggests the 8 Series Gran Coupe will exist with the 7 Series (long wheelbase version). And also that the X2 might be eliminated soon as well, though an X8 is said to be in the works. Joy.
Honestly, BMW probably knew the Z4 wasn’t going to do it any favors, which is why it made the decision to share its platform with Toyota for the Supra in the first place. Maybe what will happen eventually is the Z4 will be cancelled, yet it’ll still sort of live on as the Supra.
Advertisement
Everyone offers big sedans and crossovers. The Z4 is what makes BMW’s lineup just a little different. I hope it doesn’t go away, though I would understand if it did.
At least us fun-havers will still have the manual transmissions in the upcoming M3 and M4.
Advertisement
You can check out the rest of Automobile’s story here.
We have reached out to BMW for comment on the matter and will update if we hear back.
Advertisement
via Motor Authority
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
