X brand to remain king of luxury SUV hill, says BMW

BMW sells more luxury SUVs than any other prestige car maker in Australia. The BMW X5 is Australia's best-selling large luxury SUV and although Audi and Mercedes-Benz are catching up, BMW Australia's new managing director, Marc-Heinrich Werner, says BMW's dominance in the SUV marketplace is set to continue.

During the national launch of the new BMW X6, he points to the local launch of several new SUV variants in 2015 including the face-rippling X5M and X6M models during the second quarter of this year.

"This will continue to create interest in the X brand," he says of the high-performance, highly visible models.

"Later in the year we will release an all-new plug-in hybrid X5," says Werner. "This activity will ensure X5 retains that [top-selling] title."

In total 4130 new X5 models found owners in 2014, compared to its competitors' best-selling SUVs, the Audi Q5 at 3432 units and the Mercedes-Benz M-Class's 3143 sales.

He also confirmed the upcoming seven-seat BMW X7, the German company's largest SUV to date, will be built in right-hand drive and will be offered in Australia in due course.

"It will be right-hand drive, absolutely," he told motoring.com.au.

"It has a lot of sales potential here. Australia is one of the reasons why this car is coming," he states, pointing out that Australia is a top 10 global market for BMW thanks to its 22,722 sales in 2014, up more than 10 per cent on 2013's tally.

Expected to rival the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, the new BMW X7 will be a true seven-seat SUV and as such will stretch about 200mm longer than the X5. Production of the new BMW behemoth won't commence until 2016 at the company's Spartanburg plant in the USA, and although Werner wouldn't be drawn on when it'll launch here, Australian deliveries aren't expected until at least 2017, possibly later.

"Last year the chairman of BMW [Norbert Reithofer] announced we're launching an X7 and we're really excited about that; this will further increase our dominance with our X products. But it remains to be seen when that model's to be launched."

BMW will be facing stiff competition in the coming years as Audi calls in SUV reinforcements such as the compact Q1 and coupe-like Q6, while Mercedes-Benz is also bolstering its range with the upcoming GLE, GLE Coupe and GLC models.

In 2010 BMW's SUV or X Series vehicles accounted for around 34 per cent of total sales. In 2014 it rose to 42 per cent and Werner says it will go higher in 2015, possibly to 50 per cent.

"If you look at the SUV share, or SAV share as we call it, there's certainly more room for growth and I believe that with all the new concepts coming from other manufacturers, there's certainly the possibility we'll take it to 50 per cent," he said.

BMW Australia's total SUV sales for 2014 almost doubled that of Benz: 9530 versus 5239. Audi split the middle with 7394 SUV sales, and BMW wants to strengthen its position as the prestige SUV leader.

Asked if a vehicle such as the BMW X2 could help build volume, Werner was coy.

"If there's demand for whatever you want to call it, an additional variant in the X range, we'll be more than happy to look into it. At this point in time I cannot comment on whether such a product is coming."

Except for the entry-level German-built BMW X1, which is priced from $48,300, all BMW X Series SUVs are manufactured at BMW's Spartanburg plant in the USA, which allows for faster delivery times than from Europe. But does quality take a hit from models not made in Germany?

"When it comes to product quality we have worldwide standards," asserts Werner. "So we do not differentiate whether the cars are being built in Germany, Austria, in South Africa, or the USA – we have worldwide quality standards and all plants around the globe, including China, have to meet these standards.

"The [USA-made] X5 is our strongest-selling SUV model which underlines that customers appreciate the X5 very much," observed Werner.