Quote:
Originally Posted by ducati
I would love to see the 123d here. I can feel the diesel groundswell amongst my peers. The question is: will they like and buy them when it comes time to put money on the table...
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I think the real question is whether BMW wants to step down in market and compete in the Honda civic Hybrid, the Toyota Prius, and the VW TDI Golf/Jetta market space. There is a hot 1 million+ unit market space for cars in the low to mid 20K range that get around 45 mpg. Currently all of these cars are much lower in prestige and accelleration than a 123d. They all take over 10 seconds to do 0-60. A 7 second 0-60 car with the prestige of a BMW that still meets the MPG range of all the other cars in this market sector, could rip this 1 million+ unit market wide open for BMW.
There are tons of green-thinking upscale ready-buyers who would jump on a correctly marketed 45 mpg BMW. Wander through some boards talking about Tesla's, or VW TDI's. They are full of ready-buyers who would slap down money NOW if Tesla had their 3rd generation sub-30k vehicle ready, or if VW were still importing the TDI. The buyers are out there in heavy numbers. It's the cars that are missing from the market, not the buyers.
The new EPA estimates for the hybrids will come out in 2008. These will show the hybrids getting the same MPG as the VW TDI's and a BMW 123d. The change in the EPA gas mileage estimates is the perfect opportunity for BMW to rip whole chunks of market share out of the hands of Toyota and Honda -- as disappointed (offended? lied to?) potential hybrid buyers are struck with much lower Hybrid EPA numbers than they have been lead to believe in. Everyone will be seeing the Emperor's new clothes in 2008, and potential hybrid buyers aren't going to like it. But they will still be in the market for high MPG cars.
A correctly marketed 123d priced in the upper-mid 20k range could be for BMW what the Prius has been for Toyota over the last 5 years.
The question is whether BMW wants to risk thier US brand image to get that large number of units or not.