Nowadays it feels like every new vehicle launches is a kind of crossover or SUV. Although they are still crucial for BMW, in a conversation with Gouto from AustraliaOliver Heilmer – one of the most senior designers of BMW who is responsible for compact cars, mini, BMW M and the Neue Class – said that sedans and their wagon variants are still “core” for the car maker and will stay as it comes in the Neue Class era.
Heilmer admitted that the revival of Sedans is a bit new and unexpected, and told Gouto that it seemed a few years ago as if Sedans were something that could “disappear.” This is what he told the outlet even more:
“[I]It is quite stable to be honest. Now it is something we set up. We said that BMW stands for Sedans. A small, sporty, elegant, medium sedan is the core of the brand (BMW). “
As it looks now, BMW sells six sedans with gas (nine if you record M cars) and three electric sedans in the US, more than just in the neighborhood, and it seems that there are more on the way. It has just launched the IX3 crossover, but the plan is to dust off the old type plate of the i3 and rather as an electric 3 series rather instead of restarting later. BMW lets individual markets decide which types of vehicles it sells in them, according to Heilmer.
“Different markets respond differently than proportion. We always try different types of shapes. (BMW) always test when the taste of the customer is changing.
“What we have learned, for example, is that the station wagon is becoming increasingly popular in the United States. And then we respond (on),” he said.
A quieter BMW
For those of you who regret the current design language of BMW, I have even more good news. Heilmer tells Goaa Those upcoming models will be ‘calmer’. That means that you can say goodbye to the enormous kidney grilles found on cars such as the M3 and M4. The smaller gratings of the new IX3 are likely to be the norm, with Sedans not getting the kidneys at all.
It doesn’t have to be in your face in terms of expression. It can be much more subtle. That is perhaps the era in which we are from a BMW perspective. We are talking about monolithic, clean surfaces – calm, but still very emotional. “
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“We have a wide range of products at BMW. If there will be a (model) in the future that we feel that we need a greater representation of the kidney in terms of presence, we will do it,” Heilmer said.
“But the core of the brand, the IX3, i3, is closer to (a) reference to what we had in the 1960s, where we said it doesn’t have to be so loud for this type of car.”
However, it is not all good news for BMW purists. GoAuto reports that things such as circular headlights may not return when LED technology continues. I’m sure you’ll survive.
Since a few generations, BMW has been in a kind of love-hate-hatred design, and with the introduction of the IX3 and Neue Class as a whole, the German car maker seems to follow a more measured approach. With a recommendation to Sedans and Wagons, it certainly sounds that BMW wants to remain enthusiastic when it comes to choosing luxury cars. I suppose we just have to drive them to find out.
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