BMW aims to pass Mercedes in luxury market
2004 5-series key to the overthrow
As profits rise, BMW aims to pass Mercedes in luxury market
Highlights from the Bloomberg article:
MUNICH -- Bayerische Motoren Werke AG Chief Executive Helmut Panke is broadening the No. 2 luxury carmaker's model range in his bid to surpass DaimlerChrysler AG's Mercedes-Benz as the largest maker of luxury vehicles.
Next year, BMW will bring out a new version of the 5-Series to take market share from the Mercedes E-Class, introduced this year. The smaller 3-Series, a competitor to the Mercedes midsize C-Class, has been the main growth engine for BMW.
"They need to reduce their dependence on the 3-Series," said Joerg Schaefer. "The 5-Series will be absolutely key to overtaking Mercedes."
BMW is closing the gap this year. It expects sales to grow 5 percent, while Mercedes-Benz is trying to match last year. In the first nine months, BMW-brand sales rose 5 percent to 700,950 vehicles. Mercedes sales were little changed at 839,600.
New Models
New versions of an existing model generally boost sales. BMW also will introduce two new lines of cars, the 6-Series at the end of next year and the compact 1-Series, a rival to the Mercedes-Benz A-Class as well as Volkswagen AG 's Golf, in 2005.
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