It seems to us that there are a couple companies doing what it takes to capture the automotive sales crown in their respective segments. One of them is Volkswagen, and the other is BMW.
This game is always a risky one for an automotive manufacturer and there's a simple reason why: To keep moving units ant a steady, increasing pace it requires great incentives, a mega amount of advertising and an excellent product. Selling a cheap widget isn't going to just win you sales in today's climate.
Of course another key component is keeping dealers equipped with an excellent amount of inventory. But, how do you do that when there's a slew of options and colors? The correct answer is "very carefully" however, that doesn't always result in success.
BMW is finding this out now as it has an inventory build up. That said, BMW is working to shift this inventory out of lots ASAP.
While discussing business with a friend of AutoSpies — who sells BMWs — this weekend, he said that certain cars are getting blown out of the showroom floors. An example of that would be the i3. The Northeast region has so many 2015 model year i3 vehicles that it's leasing them for only $209/month.
Assuming that the company wants to shift units and it starts discounting vehicles across the board, which all-new BMW would YOU want to get if a deal was to be had?
BMW will likely spend the rest of the first half of this year liquidating inventories in the U.S. as it attempts to reduce a heavy stock overhang stemming from the end of last year, when it edged out Mercedes-Benz and Lexus for the U.S. luxury sales crown.
Comments from BMW executives confirm bearish remarks made by major dealership groups that said cars such as the 3 series were sitting on showroom lots, declining in value with each day...
Read Article