DESPITE a new car market in the doldrums thanks to COVID 19 and supply issues, the premium market remains “pretty strong” according to the BMW Group in the UK.
Rob East, General Manager Corporate Sales, said that although there have been challenges, the Group’s underlying perf performance has remained strong. He added: “Certainly the corporate business has been good and we have seen a particular increase in the chauffeur market.
“The supply issue has been a particular challenge in the second half of this year and it’s going to be well into next year before we get back to come sort of normality. We have been de-contenting some models and we have been straight with customers to manage expectations. Generally they are not too concerned about missing out on less important electronics such as wireless phone charging etc.
“What we are finding is that corporate customers still want to meet virtually, there’s less face-to-face, and as we move towards electrification the customers want to talk about sustainability of the vehicle manufacture and the supply chain.”
East was speaking on the sidelines of the BMW Group’s Electric Showcase held at the Farnborough Exhibition Centre where it displayed the full range if full electric and plug-in hybrids from the BMW and Mini brands.
It also provided a UK launchpad for it’s all-electric i4 Gran Coupe which goes on sale starting at £51,904 for the 250hp 40sp with a highly impressive range of 365 miles. The range tops out at £63,905 for M50 with 400hp, a 0-62mph acceleration time of 3.9 seconds and a range of 315 miles.
It feels very impressive to drive with the sort of handling and road manners you would expected from BMW. We hope to bring you a full review in the New Year.
