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      01-13-2013, 12:38 AM   #22
teagueAMX
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If I may - my 2 cents:

1. BMW's mainstream, best selling line is the 3 series. A practical, 2 or 4 door coupe or convertable, with great sporty appeal that typically sells strongly from around $45k - $55 fully loaded in the US. For conversation's sake, let's say its white collar America's meat and potatoes sporty sedan. SUV lovers and well heeled Americans have other BMW's to choose from, but those don't sell in "massive" numbers either.

2. All BMW vehicles have at least 4 seats except one - the Z4.

If you will, I believe for some reason BMW intentionally prices the Z4 out of the mainstream market where it could compete and sell in larger numbers. But, the 2 seater's pricing structure creates exclusivity and maybe that's BMW's long term marketing direction?

Another factor is previously auto plants were dedicated to a specific model and if it didn't sell you had to retool or shut down the plant. Now in the last decade or so, auto plants can build several models on the same line.

If an up-market trend is BMW's long term goal, then management can tolerate the Z's low sales number while still accomplishing their long term marketing objectives.

FWIW

Cheers
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Last edited by teagueAMX; 01-13-2013 at 01:26 AM..
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