BMW has expanded its diesel offerings in the United States lately, with diesel fans now able to choose between a 3-Series, 5-Series, 7-Series, X3 and X5 fitted with an oil-burner. However, sales results are not satisfying for BMW’s U.S. CEO, Ludwig Willisch, particularly for diesel-powered 3-Series and 5-Series.
“The 328d is selling so-so, the 5-Series is a bit disappointing. These are still early days, and low fuel prices haven’t helped diesel technology,” Willisch told Car & Driver. The exec is more satisfied with sales of diesel-powered SUVs, saying that the X5 is doing fine and that he is “quite positive that the X3 diesel will do well.”
BMW introduced the X3 xDrive28d for the 2015 model year, which returns an EPA-rated 34 mpg (6.9 l/100 km) highway.
Another topic discussed by Willisch was manual transmissions, although he said he wasn’t ready to speak about the future of manual gearboxes in the M5 and M6. Those models are preferred with manual transmissions in the U.S., while the rest of the world is happy with the automatic gearbox.
Willisch said the M5 and M6 still have a life cycle of another four years, so any discussion about whether the manual option will be retained should take place then. As for the M3 and M4, manual transmissions are here to stay, despite the fact that the share of customers who spec regular 3-Series and 4-Series with a stick is “in the low one digits.”
By Dan Mihalascu
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