Pondering the new M3 and M4 -- will they both come to the US?

[Candide13]

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So I was wondering... Let's recall that the past I6 M3 (E46) never came as a sedan to the US.

Our current V8 M3 did come as sedan (E90), coupe (E92) and convertible (E93). But the sedan was always much less popular in the US, so after 2011 they cancelled it. Some of us love that car, of course

Now, if I understand it correctly then the new I6 M will come as sedan (M3) and coupe/convertible (M4).

Given the recent experiences with M sedans in the US, does this not mean it is likely that NO new M3 will come to the US??

There will be an M4, but the M3 name might be retired in the US.....

[Ali@BMWMt.laurel]

Originally Posted by Candide13

So I was wondering... Let's recall that the past I6 M3 (E46) never came as a sedan to the US.

Our current V8 M3 did come as sedan (E90), coupe (E92) and convertible (E93). But the sedan was always much less popular in the US, so after 2011 they cancelled it. Some of us love that car, of course

Now, if I understand it correctly then the new I6 M will come as sedan (M3) and coupe/convertible (M4).

Given the recent experiences with M sedans in the US, does this not mean it is likely that NO new M3 will come to the US??

There will be an M4, but the M3 name might be retired in the US.....

M3 will be for the Sedan and M4 for the Coupe/vert - Both headed for US markets.

[DDS2015]

The sedan was cancelled after 2011 because BMW stopped producing the E90 and started making the F30 instead.

Also have you not been paying attention to the spy shots of the new M3 sedan? See http://www.bimmerpost.com/m3/spyshots/

It's in FEP stage I believe already so it's unveil is soon.

[Candide13]

Hm, I guess what I am really pondering is the long term prospect of the M3 name once it is sedan only.

[aajami]

Where are you getting your suppositions from?

F80 M3, F82 M4, F83 M4 convertible, and F86 M4 Gran Coupe are all coming to the US.

There was no such thing as an E46 M3 sedan in any market.

E90M was not cancelled. Its production stopped when the E90's run came to an end.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by Candide13

Hm, I guess what I am really pondering is the long term prospect of the M3 name once it is sedan only.

The M3 and M5 were traditionally positioned to cover the entire market (with a few exceptions) for the BMW performance coupe/sedan buyer. As BMW has begun to introduce new M models, this is changing. We will have the M2, M3, M4, M5, M6. With a change in marketing strategy, I would not be surprised to see the M3 outsell the M4.

[xtose92]

Originally Posted by aajami

Where are you getting your suppositions from?

F80 M3, F82 M4, F83 M4 convertible, and F86 M4 Gran Coupe are all coming to the US.

There was no such thing as an E46 M3 sedan in any market.

E90M was not cancelled. Its production stopped when the E90's run came to an end.

Originally Posted by mkoesel

The M3 and M5 were traditionally positioned to cover the entire market (with a few exceptions) for the BMW performance coupe/sedan buyer. As BMW has begun to introduce new M models, this is changing. We will have the M2, M3, M4, M5, M6. With a change in marketing strategy, I would not be surprised to see the M3 outsell the M4.

Boom.

[aajami]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

The M3 and M5 were traditionally positioned to cover the entire market (with a few exceptions) for the BMW performance coupe/sedan buyer. As BMW has begun to introduce new M models, this is changing. We will have the M2, M3, M4, M5, M6. With a change in marketing strategy, I would not be surprised to see the M3 outsell the M4.

Hi mkoesel,

Long time, no chat. I hope all is well

As far as the F8X generation is concerned, I would be very surprised if the M3 outsold the M4 for a few reasons:

- History: While past performance is no indicator of future success, the coupe has outsold the sedan when both were available (E36M and E9XM).
- Production realities: The F80 and F82 will likely debut much closer together than the F30 and F32 will, which means that the F80 will have a shorter production run than the F82.
- Mathematical disadvantage: There will only be one M3 SKU (F80) and three M4 SKUs (F82, F83, and F86). When you take the first two points into account, it seems unlikely that there will be one M3 sold for each of the three M4 variants.

[Voltigeur]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

The M3 and M5 were traditionally positioned to cover the entire market (with a few exceptions) for the BMW performance coupe/sedan buyer. As BMW has begun to introduce new M models, this is changing. We will have the M2, M3, M4, M5, M6.

Yes, and they've clearly taken a leaf from Audi AG's book: RS6, RS5, RS4, RS3 ....

So we'll have the comps from BMW AG. All about extracting the incremental rev from the consumer, charging a bit more up the 'chain'.

[mkoesel]

All good points, aajami. You may be correct.

Let me be more specific - I suspect that there will be intervals of time over which the M3 sedan outsells the M4 coupe. I am expecting a huge marketing push from BMW on this one. While I acknowledge that performance cars tend to have two doors, there are many more sedan buyers out there than coupe buyers. With a (relatively) fuel efficient turbocharged I6 under the hood, BMW should theoretically be able to convert a lot of would be 335i buyers to the M3. I guess that will depend somewhat on where pricing ends up too.

Originally Posted by aajami

Hi mkoesel,

Long time, no chat. I hope all is well

As far as the F8X generation is concerned, I would be very surprised if the M3 outsold the M4 for a few reasons:

- History: While past performance is no indicator of future success, the coupe has outsold the sedan when both were available (E36M and E9XM).
- Production realities: The F80 and F82 will likely debut much closer together than the F30 and F32 will, which means that the F80 will have a shorter production run than the F82.
- Mathematical disadvantage: There will only be one M3 SKU (F80) and three M4 SKUs (F82, F83, and F86). When you take the first two points into account, it seems unlikely that there will be three M3s sold for every one variant of the M4.

[r3dbimmer89]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

The M3 and M5 were traditionally positioned to cover the entire market (with a few exceptions) for the BMW performance coupe/sedan buyer. As BMW has begun to introduce new M models, this is changing. We will have the M2, M3, M4, M5, M6. With a change in marketing strategy, I would not be surprised to see the M3 outsell the M4.

True, as the M5 outsells the M6

[Candide13]

Originally Posted by aajami

Where are you getting your suppositions from?

F80 M3, F82 M4, F83 M4 convertible, and F86 M4 Gran Coupe are all coming to the US.

There was no such thing as an E46 M3 sedan in any market.

E90M was not cancelled. Its production stopped when the E90's run came to an end.

When the day comes, just remember that you heard it here first!

[Needsdecaf]

Originally Posted by Candide13

When the day comes, just remember that you heard it here first!

Yes, we will all remember you were wrong.

[dhoggm3]

I guarantee that, for at least the first six months, the M3 will outsell all of its geschwistern!

[Levi]

Originally Posted by dhoggm3

I guarantee that, for at least the first six months, the M3 will outsell all of its geschwistern!

If S8/RS6 is any indication, later on M3/M4 might not outsell the next RS5.