Quote:
Originally Posted by SleepingBMW
Here's a dose of reality.
This guy is investing heavily into electric and software. This means all BMWs money is going is being spent without a return on investment until 2024 or so.
To soften the blow this man has:
1. Put ZF8 into every car instead of R&D new manuals/SMGs/DCTs. Bulk purchases = cheaper overhead.
2. Began selling the M badge without M credentials. ie: not Motorsport heritage. The M8 just was cancelled for WEC today after 1 year. BMW runs IMSA Formula e and DTM. Sad state of affairs but it saves money. No F1, No prototype, no GTE, barely GT3 presence, DTM is tiny regional, formula e is a joke. INDYCAR was begging them for a V6TT and that's not happening. All because BMW won't report a profit during this electric R&D phase. You can't have proper M without a proper Motorsport program.
3. Cheap plastic interiors since F gen launched. We've all seen it. These are the euro ford style economy interiors in 'luxury' cars. Saving money.
Germany, unlike the US has a severe cult like addiction to 'green' lifestyles. I mean it's like hardcore religious zeal. Like if you use more than one trash bag a year you are satanic murderer. That's fine, but I feel this guy must be sipping the cool aid. I feel he WANTS BMW to be a GREEN company and is spending billions to make it happen and it comes at the expense of the M division which he probably sees as toxic poison for the earth.
Electric cars have sold 50% of their projections and that's probably not going to change. My guess is BMW won't see a profit off of the i division for a long long time.
Sack this guy and put someone in charge who can make electrics while keeping BMW BMW and doesn't want to transform the brand into eco-toyota.
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Well, there is a lot of wrong here:
1- It’s universally agreed that ZF8 is the best transmission in market. And Nobody who’s looking to buy M5 backs away from it because of ZF8, actually ZF8 is a positive.
2- M cars are expensive and a small percentage of the sales. But M Performance line is more approachable, and it has just started last year. I’m pretty sure M performance line would improve sales of 550i and 340i for instance, so even if you’re personally annoyed with it, there is no way it would make a negative effect for overall profitability or sales.
3- Cheap plastic interiors since F series launched? Really? The reality is the exact opposite of you’re saying. E60 interior sucked. E90 interior sucked. E70 interior sucked. F got a little better, (Except for F30 IMO), and currently all BMW models are way better than pre-F series era in terms of plastic quality
4- If you read the article you would know that board is frustrated because BMW appears to be behind in EV tech and autonomy. So what you’re saying is the opposite of they’re saying.