According to Damon Shelly, the Chairman of the BMW National Deal Forum, BMW is not very successful in following the latest market trends. He said that the company needs to adapt its offer to the actual buyers’ needs.
The main problem seems to be the perspective shift – instead of giving customers what they want, dealers keep trying to offer them alternatives. The numbers confirm this. Ludwig Willisch, the president of BMW North America, said that the next goal for crossovers is to make up 40% of sales, and the current rate is around 33%
In order to increase the number of SUVs and crossovers produced, BMW is setting up a Spartanburg plant in South Carolina that will have capacity of 450,000 units per year. By doing this, Bavarians are looking to meet the demands of the market.
Another confirmation of this plan is in the recent news – there is a plan to develop a new crossover, currently called X2, which is expected to be a coupe version of X1.
Still, the decision to release more crossovers is somewhat risky. It’s suggested that the demand exists due to the low gas prices, but that’s likely to change in the near future.
In order to stay up to date with all of the possible future scenarios, BMW needs to continue working on electric and hybrid cars. That way, they will be ready for trend changes in the market.