The company is counting on a speedy economic recovery in North America, thus opening up new market opportunities for a big BMW SUV to take on the Chevy Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon, Escalade and other kings of the road.
The original plans to build the X7 were scrapped back in 2008, when the economic crisis hit all manufacturers, leading BMW to shift production to more fuel efficient vehicles. Now, the Bavarian carmaker sees strong demand for such a vehicle not only from the US, but also from growing markets like China and India. China’s strong demand for luxury goods makes it BMW’s most profitable market for large sedans, Bernstein Research estimating that 50% of BMW’s operating profits come from China. BMW themselves admit profits in China are in the low two-digit range.
If the X7 is indeed back on the drawing board, it is expected to share its platform with the 5 Series long wheelbase variant or the next generation 7 Series.
"So, BMW is downshifting. While it makes one big sedan especially for the Chinese market, it isn't ramping up production enough to fill all its Chinese orders. It wants to make sure it has sufficient supply for the U.S. and Germany. The company is also counting on the U.S. to rebound more quickly than doom-and-gloomers think, making rebalancing less necessary than the leaders gathered in Seoul believe. It is even reconsidering its decision to cancel a new large SUV, which was meant mainly for U.S. buyer," said Friedrich Eichiner, BMW's chief financial officer, in an interview given to WSJ.
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