BMW pondering people movers with high roofs, power, sporty handling
By DAVID SEDGWICK | Automotive News
The larger vehicle of the two being studied by BMW could be built either on the X5 (above) or 5-series platform.
GENEVA -- BMW AG is developing two multi-purpose vehicles with high roofs for the world market.
The vehicles, under development for more than a year, appear to be minivan-like, although BMW prefers not to use that term. The German automaker has not approved the vehicles, but a senior executive said they are getting a serious look.
"Normally we would not work on a van," said Burkhard Goeschel, BMW's board member in charge of r&d.
Designing a high-roof vehicle with sporty handling "is not an easy task," said Goeschel, who is overseeing the project. Sporty handling is mandatory, or BMW won't approve the project, he added.
"The vehicles are in pre-budget," he said. "Now we have to decide whether to do it."
That decision could come this year, Goeschel added.
If approved, the vehicles would mark BMW's introduction of another non-traditional product to the luxury market.
BMW's move comes at a time when arch-rival Mercedes is developing some non-traditional products of its own. Next year, Mercedes will introduce a sport wagon dubbed the Vision Grand Sports Tourer.
BMW's new vehicles would be sold in all markets, including the U.S.
During an interview at a BMW reception here last week, Goeschel described the project:
>>> The vehicles would have 18-inch wheels and a sporty seating position for the driver.
>>> A V8 engine would be available for the larger vehicle, while a six-cylinder engine could power the smaller one.
>>> The larger vehicle could be built either on the X5 or 5-series platform. The smaller vehicle could share either the X3 or 3-series platform.
>>> The vehicles could have as many as six seats, although that seating configuration is not mandatory.
If the vehicles are based on the X5 and X3 architectures, BMW could produce them at its Spartanburg, S.C., assembly plant. If not, it would build them in Europe, Goeschel said.
BMW may be poised to announce an expansion at Spartanburg, which produces the Z4 roadster and X5 SUV. The state of South Carolina has agreed to offer incentives for new investment at the site, but BMW said there is no timetable for expansion.
Analysts had expected a different product to go into Spartanburg - a larger 7-series-based SUV referred to as the X7. But consultant Alan Baum of The Planning Edge in Farmington Hills, Mich., said X7 discussions have been going on so long that "it surely must be off the table now."
BMW has not confirmed that it is considering such a vehicle.
BMW is loath to dilute its image by offering a minivan, said Wes Brown, a research analyst with Nextrend in Thousand Oaks, Calif. But he said it must address the segment.
"We believe there's a market for high-line brand people-movers," Brown said. "They won't be mass-market soccer-mom vehicles. But there is definitely a potential for high-end seven-passenger people carriers."
Mercedes is nibbling at this segment with the Grand Sports Tourer, which enters production next year in Vance, Ala.
"BMW must be facing a real dilemma right now," Brown said. "They see a valid market segment. They just have to assure themselves that they can enter it in a way that won't mess up their image."
BMW's vehicles are being developed under the code names RFK-1 and RFK-2. RFK stands for Raum funktionales Konzept, which means functional-space concept.
Goeschel said BMW can produce the vehicles on existing assembly lines because they would share the architectures of existing vehicles. That also would minimize product development costs.
But BMW is using just about all of its global production capacity. It has the capacity to produce 1.1 million vehicles annually, and that's just about what the company produces
By DAVID SEDGWICK | Automotive News
The larger vehicle of the two being studied by BMW could be built either on the X5 (above) or 5-series platform.
GENEVA -- BMW AG is developing two multi-purpose vehicles with high roofs for the world market.
The vehicles, under development for more than a year, appear to be minivan-like, although BMW prefers not to use that term. The German automaker has not approved the vehicles, but a senior executive said they are getting a serious look.
"Normally we would not work on a van," said Burkhard Goeschel, BMW's board member in charge of r&d.
Designing a high-roof vehicle with sporty handling "is not an easy task," said Goeschel, who is overseeing the project. Sporty handling is mandatory, or BMW won't approve the project, he added.
"The vehicles are in pre-budget," he said. "Now we have to decide whether to do it."
That decision could come this year, Goeschel added.
If approved, the vehicles would mark BMW's introduction of another non-traditional product to the luxury market.
BMW's move comes at a time when arch-rival Mercedes is developing some non-traditional products of its own. Next year, Mercedes will introduce a sport wagon dubbed the Vision Grand Sports Tourer.
BMW's new vehicles would be sold in all markets, including the U.S.
During an interview at a BMW reception here last week, Goeschel described the project:
>>> The vehicles would have 18-inch wheels and a sporty seating position for the driver.
>>> A V8 engine would be available for the larger vehicle, while a six-cylinder engine could power the smaller one.
>>> The larger vehicle could be built either on the X5 or 5-series platform. The smaller vehicle could share either the X3 or 3-series platform.
>>> The vehicles could have as many as six seats, although that seating configuration is not mandatory.
If the vehicles are based on the X5 and X3 architectures, BMW could produce them at its Spartanburg, S.C., assembly plant. If not, it would build them in Europe, Goeschel said.
BMW may be poised to announce an expansion at Spartanburg, which produces the Z4 roadster and X5 SUV. The state of South Carolina has agreed to offer incentives for new investment at the site, but BMW said there is no timetable for expansion.
Analysts had expected a different product to go into Spartanburg - a larger 7-series-based SUV referred to as the X7. But consultant Alan Baum of The Planning Edge in Farmington Hills, Mich., said X7 discussions have been going on so long that "it surely must be off the table now."
BMW has not confirmed that it is considering such a vehicle.
BMW is loath to dilute its image by offering a minivan, said Wes Brown, a research analyst with Nextrend in Thousand Oaks, Calif. But he said it must address the segment.
"We believe there's a market for high-line brand people-movers," Brown said. "They won't be mass-market soccer-mom vehicles. But there is definitely a potential for high-end seven-passenger people carriers."
Mercedes is nibbling at this segment with the Grand Sports Tourer, which enters production next year in Vance, Ala.
"BMW must be facing a real dilemma right now," Brown said. "They see a valid market segment. They just have to assure themselves that they can enter it in a way that won't mess up their image."
BMW's vehicles are being developed under the code names RFK-1 and RFK-2. RFK stands for Raum funktionales Konzept, which means functional-space concept.
Goeschel said BMW can produce the vehicles on existing assembly lines because they would share the architectures of existing vehicles. That also would minimize product development costs.
But BMW is using just about all of its global production capacity. It has the capacity to produce 1.1 million vehicles annually, and that's just about what the company produces
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