Only a month after it first went on sale in Europe and a week in the U.S., BMW's brand-new 5-Series sedan, codenamed F10, is sold out in all-markets with customers having to wait up three to four months for deliveries, according to company officials.
"The 5-Series is at the core of the BMW brand and we knew it was going to be a very strong vehicle for us," said Ian Robertson, BMW's sales boss, today in an interview at an industry conference in Bilbao, Spain. "In the U.S., where it's doing very well, it could come to between 15 percent and 17 percent of our business as we ramp up," Robertson added.
Analysts like Georg Stuerze from UniCredit in Munich suspect that the new 5-Series, which shares as much as 70 percent of its technology with the company's flagship model, the 7-Series, appeals more to consumers than its predecessor because of its less divisive styling language.
Stuerze also suggests that the new 5er is 'stealing' market share from Audi's A6 because it will be soon replaced by an all-new model.
Nevertheless, Bloomberg reported that all three premium automakers in Germany are recording significant sales growth this year with BMW announcing an 11 percent increase in deliveries in May. Mercedes claimed sales were up 17 percent with the help of the new E-Class (+84%) while Audi saw a 15 percent increase in deliveries.
Source: Bloomberg
12 Comments:
Isn't there always this kind of wait for a new vehicle from the Bavarians. I know the UK has always suffered in this way!
It's because they would rather put 23 examples in one PR photo (number 9 above), than deliver them to customers. LOL
No need to worry ... 3 month is quite normal (often the minimum) for most brands in the European market, even for less prestigious ones.
In other news,BMW would like to mention they a have a surplus of 5 series GT's that they would like to get rid of...
awsome looks just like the 3 from behind, thats what I want from a midline car, make it look like the entry level model
This is what's called "understatement", probably not known outside the north-west European market.
Nothing weird about a 3 month waiting list, especially a brand new model. They limit supply on purpose to keep the resale value higher. I remember the Golf V GTI had a waiting list of over a year in South Africa when it was launched.
what a bunch of crock, first off this cars been available for a month here in ny, second there is alot of inventory for 2011 5 series bmw on autotrader.com
"understatement"
Wearing no clothes on is also an understatement.
LOL. And by north-west European, I'm sure he means the UK, the land of the "understated" Jaguar.
By the way UK-boy, when your country still actually owns a car company of any significance, which you don't, then you can the balls to say what you want about understated car design.
Until then you need to go through American owned Ford or India owned Jaguar. Tata for now....
A manufacturer's trick to help depreciation...
BMW (and MINI) always do this, then after this "sold out" launch - see how many you see on the road! Not many!
BMW is lagging behind I think. They need a modern day 2002. Let's hope this is it.
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