BMW Scales Back Range: These Models Are In Danger Of Being Discontinued

Milan Nedeljkovic, CEO of BMW since the end of last year, is taking a thorough approach. The brand needs to cut costs and is in a period of technological change with the introduction of the Neue Klasse platform. The brand must recoup that 10 billion euro investment as effectively as possible, which means that low-volume models are losing out. The end has already loomed for the BMW 8 Series and Z4. There are no successors planned for either model. According to the brand, it was ‘not feasible’ to develop a new 8 Series on the Neue Klasse platform. Anyone in the market for a hefty coupe from Bavaria will therefore have to turn to BMW Alpina in the future.

Another model that can reportedly pack its bags is the XM. The polarizing SUV’s lineup was already scaled back last year, with a substantial discount for the top version. After all, it is not a bestseller. During the development of the model, BMW counted primarily on high demand from China, but that has failed to materialize. Increasing pressure on profitability makes it difficult to justify such a niche flagship model internally.

Finally, the i4 is not exactly an unsuccessful model for BMW. However, the new i3 makes it redundant in the lineup. Since BMW is primarily focusing on simplifying its model range, it is not illogical that the i4 is also being phased out. It is not yet known exactly when the XM and i4 will be phased out. In any case, these seem like logical steps towards the recovery of BMW’s operating profit, which fell by 35 percent this year.

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