As President Obama’s administration continues to make stricter fuel economy standards a priority, Germany’s top luxury automakers – which traditionally rely on six-cylinder engines in their base model vehicles – are considering four-cylinder engines for the U.S. to meet those standards.

BMW last offered a four-cylinder engine for U.S. consumers in its 318ti hatchback in 1999, which was nixed due to poor sales. But as stricter fuel economy standards approach, BMW North America CEO Jim O’Donnell says a direct-injected, turbocharged four-cylinder could be on its way. Read the rest of this entry »

The debut of the BMW 7-series ActiveHybrid at the 2008 Paris auto show was just a preview of what the German automaker’s luxury sedan hybrid will offer, but the real thing might be unveiled soon.

According to L’Automobile, the BMW 750Hi, as it will be called, will be revealed at the 2009 Frankfurt auto show this September. The 750Hi will battle it out with the newly introduced Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid and the Lexus LS600h, which has enjoyed a few-year head start in this arena over its German competitors. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite grim April sales, a BMW executive and a Mazda executive said in separate interviews that their respective companies expect to see the market bounce back in the second half of 2009.

Speaking with Automotive News, BMW’s U.S. CEO, Jim O’Donnell, said that the BMW brand will see at least ten percent growth over the previous year starting in September. He said the growth would continue through the final quarter, but Mini would remain flat in the last four months of the year. O’Donnell expects the redesigned 2010 7-Series to lead the charge come September, continuing its 1000-sales-per-month average from last year. Read the rest of this entry »

Due to sinking sales in the luxury car market, BMW has posted an operating loss of €55 million euros or $73.7 million in the first quarter of 2009. As a result, the automaker is unable to deliver a reliable earnings forecast for the remainder of the year.

BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer told reporters that there have been no signs that the market will recover before next year. BMW hopes to resume its target sales by 2012. By that time, new versions of the 1-, 3-, and 5-series model lines will be on sale.

With production down a third, inventories have fallen. However, sales volumes have only declined by a fifth, allowing the BMW group to earn €220 million ($293 million) in free cash flow from its car program. Read the rest of this entry »

BMW revealed in a press release yesterday that the production version of its sub-X3 crossover, the 2010 BMW X1, will debut this November. The German automaker will follow up with the introduction of several new hybrid models.

The X1 will be BMW’s smallest utility vehicle when it debuts, as the X3 will grow in size when it is redesigned. Although many spy photos have been floating around the internet, the X1 has only been seen in concept form, at the 2008 Paris Auto Show. Few changes are expected in the metamorphosis from concept to production model.

The press release also said that the BMW X6 and BMW 7-Series hybrids would be released by the end of the year. Read the rest of this entry »