German Car Forum

FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is continuing to consider whether it will set up a fourth brand as part of its long-term growth strategy, chief financial officer Michael Ganal said in an interview with Euro am Sonntag.

He said that to ensure long-term growth, it is not enough for BMW to tighten costs and that it must also consider increasing its revenues, adding a fourth brand 'remains absolutely conceivable'.

At present, the group has the BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce (other-otc: RYCEY.PK - news - people ) brands.

BMW CFO says group still considering fourth brand - Forbes.com

Aston? ...that would complete a fantastic portfolio.

Actually, I think a company Like Saab could excel under BMW.

The company I would most like to see under BMW is Lotus. A lightweight Lotus chassis with a M engine... .

Im with you. Lotus is the right way to go.

Can you imagine an Elise with a BMW 4 cylinder turbo? That would sure be something. However, if they are looking to make profit, Lotus might not be the way to go.

Lotus! both bmw and lotus makes cars with amazing handling, I'm sure they will work together.

How about little sportscars from MG with a BMW engine.......

....Oh wait.....

I think MB and Aston are on the path to Linkage. A single party owns a large stake in both and there have been recent announcements Aston will be relying on MB engines and other tech.

I agree, Saab needs a master like BMW. It could really thrive under them. BMW have proven outstanding in terms of brand management and they've got the tech to back it up.

^ thanks for that update Mohammed ....I have missed so much auto-gossip this year.

While true with the brands they currently own, I doubt Rover guys would agree
Since Saab would probably be positioned where Rover was under BMW, I'm not so sure it would be a perfect match.

^True ....but Saab has far more international marketability.

I think that adding Aston Martin to the portolio would have been totally fantastic.

But BMW need something that can bring in more cash and AM caters to a smaller group of people. Imo, if BMW can somehow buy Volvo, I think that would be a home run. The brand is already recognizable (much more so than Saab).

Can you imagine: BMW, Mini, Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, Volvo?

That could easily take on the gargantuan that is Porsche+VAG. The world could end and that would still be a powerful company.

Fourth brand - if getting a green light - will be used for "urban mobility solution" only.


3 alternatives are in the game:

1.) buying an existing brand (eg. Tesla)
2.) using one of the brand names BMW own (Isetta, Riley, Triumph)
3.) inventing completely new brand from scratch (aka smart, scion etc)


No Aston, no Volvo, no Saab.

High-end sports cars will be produced under BMW (large 2-seater roadster & coupe, 4dr large GT) badge, and Rolls-Royce brand (large & smaller coupe: one based on Phantom, one on Silver Ghost platform; even supercar & 4dr coupe coupe are considered).

How do they plan to survive without another big volume brand ? R&D costs will gets higer & higher and there's a limit to cost savings programms.

Joint-ventures & cooperations - parts sharing, purchasing sharing, production capacities sharing etc.

Even more inter-model parts & platform sharing (more modular approach), yet more individualization options (trims, colors, upholstery etc).

Stronger US dollar can also help a lot.

Less marketing expenses with better output (marketing innovations) ...

poor scott

Yeah ... He will have to work twice as hard for the same money.

and they will cancle any shootings abroad - the farest he is going to get, is Müchner Allianz Arena

I agree with EnI.
I believe having a fourth brand under BMW will not be Lotus nor Volvo or a Saab.

As good as it sounds, a Lotus with a BMW engine.
It would be of not much of a use for BMW in order to increase revenues and cut costs as Lotus is just a small volume car.
And besides, it would hurt the image and sales for BMW M cars as the ultimate driving car. BMW M (CSL) will be the only benchmark for sportscars within BMW group.

Notice that the current brand portfolio within BMW group doesn't contain any cannibalism. RR is too high end to compete with BMW. Mini is kinda a niche and also the product portfolio is too limited to compete with BMW.
Saab and Volvo sounds good at first but either brands have a large core product overlap with BMW which could be a problem if you share too many components and technology.
It wouldn't really help to increase revenues, a possibility of cannibalism would exist within BMW group which could lead to a scale balancing effect. In example less sales in BMW in favour of sales for Volvo or Saab and vice versa.
But it'd help to cut costs in a way.

BMW 1 series vs Volvo C30
BMW 3 series vs Saab 9-3 vs Volvo S40/S60/C70
BMW 5 series vs Saab 9-5 vs Volvo S70/S80
BMW X5 series vs Saab 9-7 vs Volvo XC90

As green and clean is the new trend within automotive industry, it'd be probably a small, mobile carbrand with a reasonable sales volume like EnI pointed out.

I guess he will be limited to BMW Welt, BMW Museum & BMW Studio. And to the vivid streets of Munich.

It was said by BMW officials the "urban mobility solution" vehicle would be a premium vehicle, dynamic & fun to drive (like every other product within BMW Group portfolio), and the annual production volume would be around 200,000.

By the end of this year it will be decided what can of vehicle the car will it be (car or a hybrid between car & motorcycle: 4 wheels vs 3 wheels), what powertrain will be used (electric, hybrid, or fuel cell), and under which brand the car(s) will be marketed.

I'm sure all the decisions will be publicly announced at the and of the year, or earlier next year at some Chinese or American Motor show. Perhaps some design study will be shown in the near future as well (eg. within 2 years).