BMW is preparing to enter the market for car-style people carriers, the car maker’s chairman has told BBC News.
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Speaking at a press event ahead of the Geneva motor show, Helmut Panke reportedly predicted demand for such crossover vehicles would soar in Europe.
In contrast, he told the BBC , the popularity of van-style seven-seat vehicles and traditional saloon cars would fade. “Customers are moving out of the minivan (and) traditional concepts are not as attractive anymore.
“We have decided that BMW will enter the [crossover] segment,” he reportedly said in the clearest indication yet about the car maker’s intentions.
The BBC said a decision on just how BMW will manage its entry into the new market is due in the first half of 2005. Panke reportedly said it usually takes about three years from when a decision is taken before a new model hits the streets, implying that a BMW crossover could be on the market by 2008.
The coming switch is driven in part by the need for successful car makers to stay aware of trans-Atlantic differences in the car market, Panke reportedly insisted.
While in the US drivers tend to prefer sports utility vehicles (SUVs), such as the BMW X5 and its sibling X3, in Europe demand for crossover vehicles is likely to be considerable, he told the BBC.
“There’s a growing market here,” he said, according to the report. “We are going to go that way.”
