U.S. BMW dealerships are calling to have more 5-Series models delivered on the back of high demand for the new model.
According to the head of BMW Group Region Americas, Ludwig Willisch, there were just 200 unsold examples of the new 5-Series in dealerships this week despite approximately 2,000 being pre-ordered by customers.
“So it’s a scarce species. Was it really expected to be that low? I don’t think so, but it’s one of the nicer problems to have,” he said.
The executive vice president of operations for Sonic Automotive Inc, which operates 15 BMW stores in the U.S., Jeff Dyke, said that they only have a 15-day supply of the new 5-Series and that they “need more.”
According to Automotive News, a number of members from various forums have discussed the shortage with BMW executives. The German firm has said that it is monitoring the situation but remaining wary of not oversupplying dealers with the model. If it were to do so, incentives and discounts would have to be applied to shift units.
As it stands, BMW is looking to rid dealers of the previous-generation 5-Series as quickly as possible. In January, average incentives on the model reached to $11,005, but fell to $6,284 in March.
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