[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

I'm actually not totally clear on why the 320 was shelved for the US market. I'd venture to guess that due to low margins they really had to push a high volume of them? And felt their resources would be better used on SAVs and EV development?

I won't miss those base model white 320i lease specials one bit.

Margins were likely low, yes. But also, they did not want to upstage (cannibalize) the 228i Gran Coupe.

Originally Posted by 530iDriver

The 320 will be back I am sure. In the F30 generation, the 320 was not available until 2014, 2 years after the F30 launch.

It won't be. The 228i Gran Coupe debuts this year (and hits dealerships in the first half of next year) and will be more profitable than a G20 320i.

Originally Posted by Miko M

Wait until economy hits like it did in 2008
Everyone was selling SUV and buying cars because of gas prices

You don't want to many SUV

That's not where this is headed. By the time you ramp up fuel-efficient small vehicles, fuel is no longer the driver of fuel economy. How electrified you are is the new driver. So, if gas prices become an issue (and I doubt they will, but let's say they do just for the sake of argument), then the market is ripe to push people into those quirky hybrid drive vehicles that everyone thinks are just for the stinky PETA lady down the block or the weirdos in California. Enter marketing department stage left.

No one is going to give up their SUV for a Yaris when they realize they can cut $100 a month on gas by buying a hybrid SUV. "But wait though" - you protest - "the SUV costs a lot more than a shit-box!" Yeah, and so do the nonsense, land-barge, pseudo off-road, rolling living rooms that are being swept off the lots at a furious clip today. People don't care about vehicle cost - that's all financed or leased, you see. It's a fixed cost. What they care about is that ding in the monthly spending cash because that's one less Amazon Prime delivery.

Here's what you need to be successful in the 2020+ automotive market:

a) Amortized Hybrid technology
b) EV readiness, including diversified battery suppliers with a line on raw materials
c) Class leading small SUVs
d) Class leading medium-sized SUVs
e) Class leading large SUVs
f) Class leading ridicuously-sized SUVs
g) In general, the ability to push people coming out of your passe' passenger cars into your SUVs instead of someone else's

Whether BMW is prepared is still open for debate, but they don't strike me as any less likely to succeed than the rest of the premium manufacturer playing field, Mercedes included. One thing that VAG and Daimler do have that BMW doesn't - sheer size.