BMW 3-Series Hybrid Zooms Ahead
Guenter Schiffmann/Bloomberg
BMW will double its lineup next year with hybrid versions of the 3- and 5-Series sedans powered by six-cylinder engines.
BMW will double its lineup next year with hybrid versions of the 3- and 5-Series sedans powered by six-cylinder engines. Photographer: Guenter Schiffmann/Bloomberg
Audi Revs Up Hybrids with 245-Horsepower Prius Challenger
Jason Alden/Bloomberg
Audi will enter the hybrid segment this year with a version of the Q5 sport-utility vehicle, which boasts a combined 245-horsepower from its gasoline and electric motors.
Audi will enter the hybrid segment this year with a version of the Q5 sport-utility vehicle, which boasts a combined 245-horsepower from its gasoline and electric motors. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW, the
world's largest maker of luxury cars, is doubling its hybrid
offerings with 340-horsepower semi-electric versions of its two
best sellers, taking aim at Toyota Motor Corp. (7203's Lexus.
BMW will increase its hybrid lineup next year to four
vehicles with variants of the 3- and 5-Series sedans that
combine turbo-charged six-cylinder engines with an electric
motor to save fuel and boost performance. Lexus, which has led
the way among luxury-car makers in introducing the technology,
will offer five hybrid models.
"Lexus so far effectively had a monopoly on luxury-hybrid
models," said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends
at U.S. auto website TrueCar.com in Santa Monica, California.
"Their dominance will be challenged for the first time."
Volkswagen AG (VOW's Audi and Daimler AG (DAI's Mercedes-Benz are
also adding hybrid models in the coming months to catch up after
focusing attention on fuel-efficient diesel engines for the
European market. BMW and Mercedes are poised to surpass Lexus in
U.S. sales this year for the first time in more than a decade.
Lexus, whose lineup includes the $112,250, 438-horsepower
LS hybrid, has been helped by Toyota and its groundbreaking
Prius in being out front with the technology. About 13 percent
of the brand's U.S. sales this year have been hybrids, compared
with less than 1 percent for BMW and Mercedes, according to data
from auto website Edmunds.com.
Still, the combination of combustion engines and electric
motors has yet to make a widespread breakthrough as high costs
restrain sales to less than 2 percent of global deliveries,
according to market researcher LMC Automotive.
Luxury Lift
"We see very little demand for the hybrid versions that
are currently available because of the price," said Robert Rademacher, head of German auto dealer association ZDK. "We're
looking forward to see the reception of the new models."
The new offerings from BMW and Mercedes and the first
hybrids from Audi may boost luxury hybrid sales, even as broader
demand for hybrids remains tepid. Mild and full hybrids, which
differ based on whether they can drive on electric power alone,
are projected to nearly double their share of high-end car sales
to 6.6 percent in 2015 from 3.4 percent this year, while the
share of hybrid sales of the overall car market remains below 3
percent, according to LMC Automotive.
"It's easier to pass on this technology premium to upper-
tier buyers," said John O'Dell, senior editor at Edmunds in
Santa Monica, California. "They're more interested in standing
out and willing to pay for it. If you're going to break open the
market for hybrids, you're going to do it at the high end."
'Perverse' Pleasure
The cars have indeed found a small niche among affluent
customers like Jonathan Wales. The 55-year-old finance director
bought a Lexus RX450 hybrid SUV in 2010 to get him through snow
and into London on his 40-mile commute.
"I was looking for something comfortable, but fast,
luxurious and economical," said Wales. "It's performed really
well," and the quiet ride of the electric motor has been an
added benefit.
"The perverse thing is that I kind of enjoy getting stuck
in a traffic jam," said Wales. "If you have to sit in a
traffic jam, I like to have it quiet. "
BMW will hope to woo Wales, who plans to stick with the
technology, with a hybrid version of the 5-Series early next
year, followed by a gasoline-electric variant of the best-
selling 3-Series in the fall. The two models will add to the
hybrid 7-Series and X6 models currently on sale, and give the
Munich-based carmaker the broadest portfolio among its closest
German competitors.
New Drivers
"We're now entering broader segments and expect demand to
grow as prices become more affordable," said Martin Birkmann,
BMW's manager for powertrain requirements. "We expect the new
hybrids to not only appeal to our current drivers but also draw
new customers to the brand."
Audi will enter the hybrid segment this year with a version
of the Q5 sport-utility vehicle that sells for 53,700 euros
($74,300, 9,800 euros more than a similarly equipped
conventional version. For the price, the buyer gets about 7
miles per gallon in better fuel economy from a vehicle that
accelerates to 100 kilometers (62 miles per hour in 7.1
seconds, a half a second faster than the gasoline-only version.
Audi will add hybrid versions of the A6 and A8 sedans in
the first half of 2012. The VW unit will then gear up for a line
of plug-in hybrids, which have rechargeable batteries and
greater electric-only range. The Ingolstadt, Germany-based
carmaker plans plug-in versions of the A3 compact, A4 sedan and
Q7 SUV starting in 2014.
Audi Plugs In
"Plug-in hybrids bear the greatest future potential
because they combine, better than anything else, the benefits of
combustion engines and electrification," said Peter Schwarzenbauer, Audi's sales chief. "We believe the plug-in
hybrid will carry the day over the medium term."
Mercedes, which sells a hybrid version of the flagship S-
Class sedan, will be only the second carmaker after PSA Peugeot
Citroen to combine a diesel engine with electric motors. The
E300 hybrid will be powered by a four-cylinder engine and
electric motor, focusing more an efficiency than performance
like BMW and Audi.
"Customers are slowly developing a readiness to pay a
certain extra for new sustainable driving technology," said
Thomas Weber, development chief at Mercedes, which plans to roll
out hybrid versions for all its main model lines. BMW also plans
to introduce hybrids in other model lines, Birkmann said.
The value of the additional cost of hybrids remains the key
sticking point for the technology. Audi's most efficient diesel
Q5 gets about 41 miles per gallon, compared with 34 miles per
gallon for the hybrid, even though it costs 18,850 euros less.
"The question is: are you prepared to pay that extra just
to have 'hybrid' on the back," said Al Bedwell, an analyst with
LMC in Oxford, England. "So far, the offerings haven't been
good enough."
To contact the reporter on this story:
Chris Reiter in Berlin at
creiter2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Chad Thomas at
cthomas16@bloomberg. net
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