Jim O'Donnell, the CEO of BMW North America, has admitted the company's decision to axe the 5-Series Touring in the United States was a mistake.
Citing low sales, the executive said the 5-Series GT has failed to entice wagon buyers and is sending those customers to Mercedes. Furthermore, the hatchbacks that do sell are being bought by people who would have normally purchased a 7-Series.
In the United States, BMW expected to sell 4,000 to 8,000 GTs annually. In reality, the company sold 2,848 units in 2010 and is on track to sell 2,160 this year. The situation is getting bad enough that some dealers have stopped ordering the cars altogether.
It’s no secret that the quirky BMW 5-Series GT hasn’t been a big sales success for the German automaker. Conceived with North American buyers in mind, it has hardly been a home run. Sales are settling it at an average of less than 200a month, about a quarter of what BMW intended. BMW sells plenty of 5-Series wagons in Europe and other markets across the globe, but the automaker thought it would have more success with a taller, less wagon-looking model in North America.
In reality, BMW couldn’t have been farther off. While the 5-Series GT is outselling the old 5-Series wagon, it isn’t bringing in new buyers. In fact, BMW is losing its wagon faithful.
The automaker says that it is luring in buyers from its 5 and 7-Series sedans, but not its wagon buyers, who have mostly jumped ship to Mercedes-Benz. BMW’s arch rival still offers a wagon version of its E-Class in North America; in fact, Mercedes-Benz has announced plans to import a high-performance E63 AMG wagon to supplement its current E350 4Matic.
“The disappointment I have is that I thought a lot of our 5-series station wagon customers would go with the GT,” BMW of North America CEO Jim O’Donnell told Automotive News. “In point of fact, that is not happening. We have lost those customers to the competition – mainly to Mercedes-Benz.”
Curiously, BMW says that it has seen 10 percent of 7-Series owners in Florida replace their cars with new 5-Series GTs – but that relative success hasn’t been nationwide.
As for a more conventional wagon as a 5-Series GT replacement, O’Donnell gave a mild hint: “It’s in the back of my mind. When we do the next generation, maybe we should.”
O’Donnell confirmed that BMW will stick with a wagon version of its 3-Series.
Despite the fiasco, BMW has learned their lesson and will keep the next-generation 3-Series Touring in their lineup. However, it is apparently too late for the company to bring the current 5-Series Touring to America. According to O'Donnell, "It's in the back of my mind. When we do the next generation, maybe we should."
Read more: http://www.worldcarfans.com/111052333613/bmw-5-series-gt---officially-a-mistake#ixzz1NDkU06X3
