BMW confirms front-wheel drive

The German prestige brand has always vowed they’d never venture into the front-wheel drive field. But reports overnight from Europe quote BMW boss Norbert Reithofer confirming that a small BMW will be built on the front-wheel drive Mini Cooper platform.

"There will be front-wheel drive BMWs in the smaller vehicle classes in the future,” Reithofer stated at the carmaker’s annual shareholder and financial meeting in Munich yesterday.

“This segment is expected to grow further. And we will take advantage of this opportunity,” Reithofer said. “We are exploring the possibility of developing a joint architecture for the front and four-wheel drive systems of these cars.  We all know that the cost structure in the small car segment is different from that of the larger model classes. We intend to grow profitably in this segment as well.

“Because there is one element that applies to the entire process chain: We will increasingly apply modular manufacturing kits to various models and brands. This approach enables us to cut costs further – without compromising on top quality.”

The mini BMWs – as opposed to BMW Minis - that result from this strategy are likely to be strong contenders for supremacy in the sprouting luxury subcompact segment.  And they would improve the badge’s average fuel economy and emissions – which would boost their ability to comply with coming legislation not only in Europe but in the huge US market.

But the jury will be out for a while on what it might mean to the brand value after years of trumpeting the perceived dynamic superiority of rear-wheel drive.  However in a world that is seeing Aston Martin re-badge a tiny Toyota, it seems the old-school rules and boundaries may be losing relevance.

A new generation of young buyers – possibly looking for a cheaper doorway into a prestige brand – will probably care more about the badge on the front of the car than about which set of wheels is driving it.

And some of those could well be here, with BMW Australia saying they would definitely look at importing it.  “We’ll consider it in our planning once it’s available,” BMW spokesman Tim James says.  “But at this stage we haven’t got any advice on the timing.”

James agrees the subcompacts would slip in well underneath the current 1 Series, but says there is little concern about cannibalisation of sales.   “BMW would have conducted thorough research and have obviously identified a market,” James says.  “So for them to proceed and go in this direction means they think there would be only minimal risk of cannibalisation.”

And despite BMW often – and strongly – stating that rear-wheel drive is the mark of true driving dynamics (most publicly when a former Australian boss declared Audi was not a competitor because they had no rear-drive cars) James says the front-wheel news is unlikely to dilute the brand image.

“At BMW, everything they do, they always engineer to the highest standards,” James says.  “They won’t bring anything to market that isn’t a true BMW – that isn’t the ultimate driving machine in its segment.

“It won’t come with a negative connotation. And we do consider Audi a competitor in our market – whether it’s their front-wheel or all-wheel drive cars, Audi’s in the mix.”