Quote:
Originally Posted by bmwbenz0101
This makes no sense. Isn't a brand new one series expected to be revealed sometime in 2011-2012? Would BMW really invest all this money into an M1, on a model that has basically been out since 2005 (hatchback version). To me it makes no business sense for them to do this. It would make more sense for them to develop the new M1 alongside the other new 1 series variants, which would mean we wouldn't see this model till at least 2013.
|
Actually the business case is pretty strong for this. The M version will likely bring new buyers to the table with a very high profit margin. Most of the existing tooling will be reused, and is already paid for at this point. The engine development was probably taking place for the 3 Series anyway, so this will just help spread the costs over more sales. What it comes down to is that this will largely be a "parts bin" car without a lot of additional developement cost, and that means the margins should be very good.