Niche Work

As we went to press the Frankfurt Show had just kicked off, signalling the traditional muscleflexing between the big German brands. BMW of course is on a roll these days and expects to deliver over 1.4 million cars this year, but what can we expect to see in the near future?

It’s all about exploiting niches these days in the car industry – and for ‘niche’, you can read ‘fashion’ – which explains the X6 unveiled at Frankfurt. Just as it did with the X5, BMW reckons it's created a completely new segment with this coupe/4x4 crossover 'Sports Activity Coupe' or SAC.

BMW Chairman Dr Norbert Reithofer claimed at Frankfurt that BMW would launch an incredible 40 new models this year and meanwhile the firm is currently undergoing an ‘intensive strategic review’, the results to be unveiled in the autumn.

The Frankfurt show also saw BMW make something of a U-turn on the subject of hybrids with the X6 Active Hybrid concept which is due to hit the showrooms in 2009.
Where are the rest of these new models coming from? Well we can expect a small 4x4 based around the 1-Series, or an even smaller SUV derived from the Mini, alongside MPVs based on the 3-Series and 5-Series. At the top end of the line-up, the Merc CLS-style 7-Series ‘coupe’ is expected soon, alongside a smaller Rolls-Royce.

Does the firm have the resources to keep it up? You bet – BMW Group operates 22 production plants in 12 countries, to which you can add the Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik plant in Graz, Austria which builds the X3 under contract, plus the BMW Steyr engine plant. All of them operate to a highly flexible model which allows new models to be brought to market very quickly. Meanwhile, the Spartanburg plant in South Carolina has been expanded to provide a capacity of 200,000 cars, while the production of the next Z4 is scheduled to return to Europe, leaving the vast US plant well placed to turn out the X6 alongside the next X3 – currently built by Magna in Graz.

So what happens when BMW runs out of niches to fill at the prestige end of the market? That’s when it gets interesting and that’s also when it’s probably not a good idea to mention the word ‘Rover’. It’s been suggested that with Ford in its current crisis, BMW might be in a position to snap up one of its brands but given that it’s already sold Land Rover once before and competes with Jaguar, Volvo looks ideal. Remember, stranger things have happened in the car industry and the acquisition of motorbike maker Husqvarna proves BMW hasn’t been frightened off the takeover trail.