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There’s been a lot of talk lately about a possible supercar coming from BMW as the company approaches its 100th anniversary. As we get closer to the imaginary 2016 deadline, more and more rumors will come down the line. The problem is, the Munich-based company finds it hard to set aside resources for such purposes.
In a recent interview with Auto Express, BMW’s Motorsport division boss for product development, Carsten Pries, said that the company would love to offer a supercar but just doesn’t have the resources.
“If you called any of the 550 employees at BMW M and said you’d pick up the cost for this project, we would always say: ‘Yes, let’s go for it right away’. But larger companies have to see the overall context. We always have more ideas than budget is made available – we have to see which priorities will be decided upon,” he said.
With BMW fighting to cover more and more niches therefore increasing its profitability, you can actually see where the money goes. Sure, the purists out there would say that the Bavarians need to drop all the front-wheel drive and compact models and get a grip, working on a proper supercar. But that kind of thinking will only get the company bankrupt.
That’s because the profit margin is not even comparable. The money is in volume and the 1 Series and 2 Series range are selling like hot cakes, not to mention the 3 Series. That’s where BMW not only invests but has to, in order to keep itself afloat.
In order to create a supercar, they’d have to invest heavily, maybe in excess of €1 billion, money that would be recovered slowly over time and money they simply don’t have right now, considering the €2 billion they already invested in the i sub-brand.
“If you called any of the 550 employees at BMW M and said you’d pick up the cost for this project, we would always say: ‘Yes, let’s go for it right away’. But larger companies have to see the overall context. We always have more ideas than budget is made available – we have to see which priorities will be decided upon,” he said.
With BMW fighting to cover more and more niches therefore increasing its profitability, you can actually see where the money goes. Sure, the purists out there would say that the Bavarians need to drop all the front-wheel drive and compact models and get a grip, working on a proper supercar. But that kind of thinking will only get the company bankrupt.
That’s because the profit margin is not even comparable. The money is in volume and the 1 Series and 2 Series range are selling like hot cakes, not to mention the 3 Series. That’s where BMW not only invests but has to, in order to keep itself afloat.
In order to create a supercar, they’d have to invest heavily, maybe in excess of €1 billion, money that would be recovered slowly over time and money they simply don’t have right now, considering the €2 billion they already invested in the i sub-brand.
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