|
I think BMW had the idea of selling the 320i in the US for a very long time. (1) As someone else said, the 320i is already on sale in other parts of NA. (2) Audi is the real challenger to BMW and they have much lower-priced cars (sales price, not lease, and yes with FWD and CVT, but still BMW needs to address this cost competition. (3) BMW's corporate strategy is to grow on each and every market in a balanced way.
BMW sales in Europe have grown 10.5% in the previous year, which is absolutely remarkable given that Mercedes fell 6% and brands like Renault, PSA, Fiat, Opel took a 15-20% nosedive and are borderline bankrupt. Thank you, European crisis. Just like 2008-09 in the US, just much worse.
|