As a general rule, people within the U.S. do not buy station wagons. They could be more practical and look higher than the sedan alternative, but there are only so many professors in Latest England, and most of the people would fairly drive a crossover. So when BMW announced plans to sell the M5 Touring within the U.S., we were pleasantly surprised but removed from optimistic. Weighing in at roughly 5,500 kilos, the brand new plug-in-hybrid M5 was already controversial enough, and BMW planned to supply a good harder-to-sell version, as well? Seems, we were the fools since the M5 Touring is definitely more popular than the sedan, BMWBlog reports.
That claim comes directly from Frank van Meel, the pinnacle of BMW’s M division, too. After previously reporting that global demand for the M5 had been higher than expected, BMWBlog recently spoke with van Meel and learned that, when it got here to the wagon version, Europe is not actually the M5’s biggest market. In reality, while the worldwide split is reportedly pretty equal, the U.S. has ordered more M5 Tourings, while Europe prefers the sedan.
“Well, actually in Europe, still more sedan than Touring,” van Meel told BMWBlog. “U.S. is the opposite way around. We currently have the next demand within the US for the Touring than for the sedan.”
Yes, you read that right. U.S. customers aren’t just buying more BMW M5 Tourings than you’d expect. They’re buying more of them than they’re sedans. Possibly today’s the day to purchase a lottery ticket. Or get right with as many gods as possible, because the world is clearly about to finish.
A trend or a fluke?
In fact, the large query here’s what exactly this implies. Did Americans suddenly change their minds about wagons, or is it only wealthy customers? Or are we specifically talking about wealthy BMW buyers? The M5 Touring does start north of $120,000, in any case, meaning you might have to make serious money to afford one. A household income of $250,000 puts you in the highest 10% of income earners within the U.S., and odds are, the one households putting an M5 Touring of their garage usher in closer to double that.
Personally, I believe BMWBlog nailed it with its suggestion that a giant a part of the demand likely has to do with the incontrovertible fact that up until now, you could not get an M5 Touring within the U.S. After years of taking a look at Europe with envy, U.S. customers can finally get their hands on an honest-to-goodness M5 wagon, and that is certain to drive demand. If you might have the cash, who would wish to taste the forbidden fruit? Sure, it is a ridiculously heavy hybrid, but that heavy hybrid can be ridiculously quick, and other people with M5 Touring money can even afford to place smaller, lighter, sportier cars of their garages for after they wish to rejoice within the twisties.
Based purely on the M5 Touring’s popularity within the U.S., it definitely looks as if it could be price it for BMW to supply the subsequent M3 Touring here, but I do worry that buyers on the $80,000-ish price point won’t be as focused on a wagon as those that can afford to spend greater than $120,000. However, if BMW can discover a approach to justify selling an M3 Touring with a manual transmission, possibly the allure of a three-pedal M3 wagon can be enough to attract the buyers in. Either way, we might still get an M3 Touring for a 12 months or two before it got canceled, and the M5 Touring’s popularity definitely makes it seem definitely worth the risk.
And you recognize what they are saying, BMW. There’s just one approach to discover.
H/T: Motor1
This Article First Appeared At www.jalopnik.com
