BMW Australia has joined its most direct competitor Mercedes-Benz in adjusting the price and equipment levels of some of its most popular models due to the global semi-conductor shortage.
The German car-maker has confirmed to carsales that it has been forced to “temporarily revise the specification of certain models” and has adjusted pricing accordingly.
A number of models built for Australia in May will revert to the Driving Assistant safety suite as standard, instead of the more advanced Driving Assistant Professional system.
BMW says the Driving Assistant package still retains important features such as Approach Control Warning with City Braking (AEB), Forward Collision Warning, Lane Change Warning (blind-spot monitoring), Lane Departure Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Warning, Rear Collision Prevention and Cruise Control with braking function.
However, affected vehicles will do without extra Driving Assistant Professional functions including Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go, Steering and Lane Control Assistant, Evasion Aid and Front Cross Traffic Warning.
The spec reduction applies to popular variants of the BMW 3 Series (330i and 330e Sedan and 330i Touring), BMW 4 Series Coupe (430i), BMW X3 (30i and 30d) and BMW X4 (30i), for which pricing has been reduced by $2500 as a result.
The seats in some Australian examples of the BMW 3 Series (Sedan and Touring), 4 Series (Coupe and Convertible) and X3/X4 SUVs have also been tweaked.
According to the manufacturer, selected vehicles out of March production equipped with lumbar support and/or seat backrest width adjustment (whether fitted standard or optional) will have those features deleted from the front passenger seat.
BMW says the driver’s seat will continue to offer those features, but the change will result in price cuts of between $300 and $600, depending on whether lumbar support is fitted to one or both front seats.
A small number of X5 vehicles built in April – in particular, the volume-selling xDrive30d variant – were also fitted with an xLine styling package instead of the standard M Sport Package, resulting in a $4000 price cut.
The xLine Package relates to the X5’s exterior styling treatment, which is more conservative than the M Sport Package’s blacked-out features.
BMW Australia told carsales its aim is to continue to secure supplies of vehicles for delivery to local customers without delay.
“We ordered the volumes required for 2021 at the appropriate time and expect our suppliers to fulfil these orders as stipulated by the contract,” said the company in a statement.
“We are monitoring the issue closely and are in constant communication with our suppliers on this.”