Photo: Catalin Garmacea
Things are definitely not looking good for BMW in China at this moment. After its domestic partner, Brilliance, announced that it expects a huge drop in sales this year, the Germans are seemingly taking action.
In this regard, they will launch a host of new models on the Asian market that became the largest by volume in the world in the last few years. The launch of refreshed models is needed to counter the more attractive offerings its rivals have, such as Mercedes-Benz.
According to BMW spokespeople the Bavarian company plans to launch the new G11 7 Series as well as the refreshed 3 Series range in China later this year, before entering 2016. However, these launches were expected. What we didn’t know was that they are also planning to launch cheaper versions of the X5 and X6 models.
At the moment, the cheapest X5 you can get in China is the xDrive30d model that costs CNY877,000 ($141,290) which is a lot if you think about how much a similar car costs in Europe or the US. However, that’s all due to a variety of factors and it used to be a lot worse. To counter this high price, BMW is probably pondering adding the xDrive25d and sDrive25d models that are the cheapest you can get in Europe at the moment.
They come with a twin-turbo 2-liter 4-cylinder diesel engine good for 218 HP and offer decent performance for the price. Speaking of which, we don’t have an exact number at the moment but these two will surely be cheaper than the xDrive30d model.
It will be the same scenario for the X6 model too. At the moment, the cheapest version you can get is the xDrive35i. In this case, the xDrive30d could show up shortly for a marginally lower price tag. At the moment, the cheapest X6 you can get will set you back CNY938,000 ($151,100).
Investing in bringing these new models to China might be a temporary solution, especially since the SUV segment is on the rise everywhere around the world. However, the introduction of the much cheaper X1 would be of greater help because even in their entry-level guises, the X5 and X6 SUVs are still pretty expensive.
According to BMW spokespeople the Bavarian company plans to launch the new G11 7 Series as well as the refreshed 3 Series range in China later this year, before entering 2016. However, these launches were expected. What we didn’t know was that they are also planning to launch cheaper versions of the X5 and X6 models.
At the moment, the cheapest X5 you can get in China is the xDrive30d model that costs CNY877,000 ($141,290) which is a lot if you think about how much a similar car costs in Europe or the US. However, that’s all due to a variety of factors and it used to be a lot worse. To counter this high price, BMW is probably pondering adding the xDrive25d and sDrive25d models that are the cheapest you can get in Europe at the moment.
They come with a twin-turbo 2-liter 4-cylinder diesel engine good for 218 HP and offer decent performance for the price. Speaking of which, we don’t have an exact number at the moment but these two will surely be cheaper than the xDrive30d model.
It will be the same scenario for the X6 model too. At the moment, the cheapest version you can get is the xDrive35i. In this case, the xDrive30d could show up shortly for a marginally lower price tag. At the moment, the cheapest X6 you can get will set you back CNY938,000 ($151,100).
Investing in bringing these new models to China might be a temporary solution, especially since the SUV segment is on the rise everywhere around the world. However, the introduction of the much cheaper X1 would be of greater help because even in their entry-level guises, the X5 and X6 SUVs are still pretty expensive.
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