Paris Motor Show
- Thread starter djstan
- Start date
North West Surrey
Nictrix said:
Sales numbers and end of the 7 year production run. Looks like it couldn't compete with the SLK or Boxster.
Obviously different cars, different time and different appeal for each of them but roughly in 7 year production runs....
E89 sold 115,000
E85 sold 180,856
Boxster 986 160,578
Mercedes SLK 2009 - 2016 127,464
Maybe if it had a greater appeal it would have lasted longer.
The comments on here pretty much nail it. https://jalopnik.com/bmw-just-quietly-smothered-the-bmw-z4-out-of-production-1785884537
I understand that they sold less than some competitors but to me it didnt make sense to stop production of something that would sell when there is no immediate replacement. Not that far behind Merc and they havnt stopped production.skelters said:
I also understand that you dislike them and are quite glad that they stopped making them.
What would be an estimate on how many they could have sold in the last 2 years if they didnt end production?
10,000 each year?
5,000?
It just seems odd to basically turn away business that they could have had. Anybody looking for a 2 seater "sports" car would obviously have to go to their competitors to get what they wanted instead. I wonder how many people were actually turned away from BMW when they were told they were no longer available.
Personally I would have liked to have seen production continue for as long as possible and may have traded ours for a newer model when the time came but with so few newer cars available and the new Z4 being a soft top I doubt if our next car will be a BMW.
Who knows, the new z4 could be a complete flop and sell even less than any of the above.
Nictrix said:
Some people like them, I don't. Never have since it was revealed and remember it being a disappointment at the time. It's never grown on me and don't give them a 2nd glance when passing them. Would never consider buying one.
Same sort of situation that the E85 had in that it's marmite or not. Loved the E85 since it came out and remember passing the first one I'd seen on the road. Turned around and stopped behind it and got out to have a look.
As others have said it's all down to money and profit.
Based on the European sales figures (http://carsalesbase.com/european-car-sales-data/bmw/bmw-z4/) it's easy to see why the E89 was never going to continue (even though it was only ever going to be 7 years) to be produced as it had already reached peak sales by 2013 by the looks of it.
Surprisingly the E89 never got above 4000 sales per year in the USA. There's the nail in the coffin for the E89 right there! Perhaps that had something to do with it not being manufactured there although we'll never know!
With 3006 sold in Europe in 2016 I would think it must have been making a loss even if the production did use some of the 3 Series tooling and parts, manufacturing technique or whatever it shares with the 3 Series.
Obviously with the E85 figures there's the E86 to take into account as that would generate further demand for basically the same car with the unmovable hard top. We'd also need to look at worldwide sales to get a better idea of how popular or not the E89 was or not. Not as popular as the E85 going by the sales figures but there's obviously too many different things to factor in and we could never really compare them like for like.
All figures are taken from BMW Group Quarterly Reports at www.bmwgroup.com
From here.... http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=960354
European Sales Figures
BMW Z4
2017 244
2016 3.006
2015 4.093
2014 5.373
2013 5.970
2012 7.508
2011 9.417
2010 13.153
2009 13.497
2008 6.116
2007 15.281
2006 15.844
2005 14.137
2004 18.452
2003 22.973
US Sales Figures
BMW Z4
2017 502
2016 1.187
2015 1.829
2014 2.151
2013 2.480
2012 2.751
2011 3.479
2010 3.804
2009 3.523
2008 5.879
2007 10.097
2006 12.284
2005 10.045
2004 13.654
2003 20.169
Going back in time to the Z3....
2004 112
2003 1.054
2002 10.362
2001 16.298
2000 17.786
1999 24.263
1998 27.776
1997 30.954
240,493 sold in Europe alone! I did not know that!
With the G29 it'll probably attract quite a few E89 owners and maybe even some E85 / E86 owners. Personally I don't think BMW have produced anything worth considering since the 135i coupe but that's just be my opinion.
The G29 will gain popularity as it'll be the only two seater from BMW but will it be a good car? Will it be more of a Grand Tourer?
Will it compete with Mercedes and Porsche as they intend?... Doubt it!
What would you go for if you were replacing the E89? Boxster? Cayman? SLK? Something else?
Not sure.skelters said:
Definately not a Porsche, possibly an F-type once prices have dropped a bit further although not overly keen on the canvas roof.
Another couple of months and we have had the E89 for 5 years and its been fantastic with only the handbrake needing a software update that spoiled what would have been a trouble free 5 years.
Talking about sales and how production stops as they were not selling many, as far as I can see BMW i8s have sold less than 6000 in Europe in the last 5 years and less than 5000 in the US. The i3s are less than 60,000 in Europe and 30,000 in the US.
The Z4 sold almost 3 times as many as the i8 in Europe during the same time period and almost double in the US.
Neither of these sales for the i8 or the i3 seem to be on the way up so I wonder if those will get dropped too.
Would think the i3 and i8 are more of an experiment and a foot into the hybrid market as it'll all be electric in 20 years time since dinosaur fuelled vehicles will be illegal in Europe!
It will be back to horse and cart here though (current UK) and everyone will be working for bars of Soylent Green while remortgaging your house to pay for a doctors appointment!
So not a Porsche but a Jag. Not a sports car but a tourer?
The new Z4 will probably be trying to win back the customers that didn't go for the E89 and went for a Boxster. It'll need to be something special as the 981 gets good reviews.
We live in hope but I have my doubts with all things BMW since 2009 apart from the 135 Coupe.
It will be back to horse and cart here though (current UK) and everyone will be working for bars of Soylent Green while remortgaging your house to pay for a doctors appointment!
So not a Porsche but a Jag. Not a sports car but a tourer?
The new Z4 will probably be trying to win back the customers that didn't go for the E89 and went for a Boxster. It'll need to be something special as the 981 gets good reviews.
We live in hope but I have my doubts with all things BMW since 2009 apart from the 135 Coupe.
Possibly, all depends on cost like everything in life. Porsches just dont do it for me in the looks department.skelters said:
Now some would say that the E89 is not a sports car anyway (I dont care what bracket people put a car in, I will buy something that I like not what people say it is) so moving to an F-type would be a similar car. To me a sports car is a Ferrari, a Lambo, a Mclaren etc not a BMW.
The reason for not moving into another Z would be that we bought ours when it was 3 years old. We wouldnt really want to buy another Z that was older than 3 years old when we bought it which would mean going for one of the last in production from 2016. From what I have seen advertised there is not a lot of black Zs and even less with a black interior. Call me boring, I like black cars.
Maybe just time to move on and try something else. Although that will more than likely be in another year at least.