The production of the E90 3-series sedan and E90 M3 sedan will
end in October 2011 [details], which begs the question when the next 3-series sedan (the F30) will begin production and go on sale. Details follow.
* F30 pic posted above is our render, not the official car.
F30 Production
We're able to share that the F30 3-series sedan will begin production in
November 2011, shortly after the E90 3-series stops production. The F30 2012 Model Year will run until June 2012, upon which point it will switch to the 2013 Model Year.
As the schedule shows, the F30 3-series will come as
328i and
335i models. The 328i will most certainly be powered by the 'N20' turbo 4-cylinder inline engine (as found in the Z4 28i,
details) and the 335i by a turbo 6-cylinder inline motor. Output will be in the ballpark of 245hp and 306hp, respectively.
Production will continue at BMW's Munich and Regensburg plants. The South African produced F30 328i (denoted by "SA") begins later, in February 2012.
F30 Sales
F30 sales are expected to begin in Europe around the time of its world public premiere at the 2011 Geneva show - in March, 2012. US sales should begin in late Spring of 2012. Usually, production starts just two or three months prior to market launch, but we assume BMW will use the four months' time between production start and market launch to build enough demo cars for their dealerships around the globe.
Per SCOTT26, BMW USA will build up an inventory of E90 models so they have 3-series sedans to sell during the time between E90 EOP and the F30 market launch.
Follow our complete F30 coverage @
http://www.bimmerpost.com/3-series/f30/
