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BMW cost-cutting plan aims to save $5.4B annually
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06-18-2014, 08:37 PM | #1 | |
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BMW cost-cutting plan aims to save $5.4B annually
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06-18-2014, 10:49 PM | #3 |
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Exactly what I was thinking when I read the article.
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06-19-2014, 05:32 AM | #4 |
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When you build a Coupe from a 4-door Sedan and then build a "4-door Coupe" from the 2-door Coupe, something's wrong; very, very, wrong...
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06-19-2014, 09:35 AM | #5 |
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06-19-2014, 06:43 PM | #6 |
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I don't think this article is researched very well. BMW AG is building a mega R&D (FIZ) center next to the old one, a few blocks up the street from the Welt. In fact I seem to remember reading or hearing on the radio here that BMW AG plans to spend something like 1B euros on this new R&D test center. BMW is spending more money than Audi right now. So like I said, I think this article is off base. Maybe @Scott26 can shed more light on this.
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06-20-2014, 01:48 AM | #7 |
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Bean counters are going to drive this company to the ground. Today BMW skates on the good name aquired in the past, but so many new models are an insult to that heritage. The competition is also gaining ground quickly, better car dynamic, better interior quality, more electronic gizmos. The handling advantage has vanished under the scissor effet of competition improving and BMW getting soft. Engines are still stellar, but interior has already taken a big hit, and value is very much down with the heavy handed pricing and stripped to the metal base models where everything that is not even considered luxury these days is optional (convenience access being the worst offender here).
It is not time to save money by further decreasing quality. A badge can inflate the price of a glorified FWD golf so much before people decide to just get a Golf. |
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06-20-2014, 08:44 AM | #8 | |
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I agree that Audi and Merc have more than caught up, and that's just the Germans.
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06-20-2014, 09:50 AM | #9 |
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Why does everyone automatically assume that cost cutting automatically means lowering quality?
It could mean renegotiating terms with suppliers to get better pricing for the same materials, improving logistics to save on transportation costs, etc. Besides, according to the article (which honestly doesn't provide much info and is fairly vague), he's upset with the high costs that the Mini brand and the upcoming 1 Series are incurring, so if anything, cost cutting would start there. Nothing mentioned about BMW's margins or anything (aside from the 1 Series development, which is based off the Mini platform). |
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06-20-2014, 11:30 AM | #11 | |
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BMW have an ingenious way of cost effective cost-cutting that is actually hugely beneficial to future models. Learn more later...
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06-22-2014, 07:09 AM | #12 |
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This is the reason whyBMW is going to be losing in the M department,while the rest of the company is marketing to regular buyers. There is no more hardcore M division anymore especially with consideration of a 4 banger M, active sound etc. cost keep going up n things are getting cheaper, buying more of a name. Porsche is goin to be your next ultimate driving machine if not already.
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06-26-2014, 11:11 AM | #13 |
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^ I just went and looked at a '12 ML Merc. WOW. Impressed. BMW needs to step up the game kids. My fav is the my old E39 5'er!!! That car had quality and design like no other. my E90 is good, but it's cheap feeling. When opening and closing the doors the side view mirrors creak or something. Overall the E39 is my fav BMW thus far. The 328i F30 loaner left me less than impressed. Interior felt like cheap crap and the car was big.
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06-26-2014, 02:21 PM | #14 | ||
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http://www.dailytech.com/Porsche+to+...ticle34577.htm Quote:
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06-26-2014, 05:36 PM | #15 |
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Platform sharing a la Toyota and GM.
Shared platform for 3-series on up, called 35up. Shared front wheel drive platform for everything below, including Mini. That is how they going to save money. |
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06-26-2014, 08:16 PM | #16 |
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You forgot Audi, Mercedes, and Porsche. That's how everyone is going to save money.
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06-27-2014, 02:16 PM | #18 |
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Platform sharing is not new it still surprises me to see it labelled with BMW when everyone else does it including Audi and now Porsche. There is no argument for saying BMW are doing what GM are doing as the manufacturer some of you say I am buying next does the exact same thing.
BMW see their cost cutting as an inventive initiative that will be more beneficial. Everybody is trying to make money and save money. That is the rule of today. BMW cost-cutting enters an interesting phase with the new 2 separate architectures. The arrival of the two modular matrx architectures for both FWD and RWD is part of the plan. By investing in a joint architecture with MINI - BMW can now make the MINI brand more profitable whilst adding further variants which is where we will see a progressive approach to MINI in product concept. By using the FWD BMW enter an exciting new trend in the global market for premium compact and sub-compact cars , again highly profitable and will be manufactured like MINI in various global markets. This is why the new MINI F56 and the BMW 2er Active Tourer , the first models from this strategy are crucial as they satisfy the demand for more premium concepts that cover a customers needs and requirements without charging a serious premium. Contrast the new MINI with the Audi A1 and you get the BMW engineered MINI which is already winning rave reviews against a more expensive Audi which is basically the VW Polo underneath which you pay a premium for. The market is getting ready for the MINI F55 5dr and the BMW 2er Active Tourer with some of the highest tracking numbers for launch sales in the last quarter of 2014 when they arrive in the market. The next 3 , 5 and 7 resort to the 35up architecture , again modular to accommodate existing variants and X models and the Rolls-Royce Motor cars products. The ingenious part her is that the architecture allows implementation for cost effective CFRP use that will spread beyond next years 7er G11 series. As time goes on Carbon will become more cost effective and its not a case of if but when a 3er in the next decade could feature a Carbon body structure like the i3. Such a reality is not too far off I n the case of the next Rolls-Royce Phantom which will have a CFRP structure mated to an aluminium chassis. Its BMWs mission to make the Phantom the worlds most technologically advanced and exclusive luxury car of this generation. Of course 35up will cover the core portfolio and its variants, but not the coupes and Z series models. This is where further cost saving takes place with the alliance with the Toyota Empire. As it stands the joint scaleable architecture will cover a plethora of joint models with both companies pooling resources and expertise to produce a generation of sports cars and Coupes that will be able to offer more advancement due to the sharing of resources. Both companies are responsible for design , power trains and engineering however so there will be a very noticeable difference. The next generation of BMW 6er coupe and Cabrio fall under this architecture now in order to provide a more sportier dynamic 2+2 allowing space for a further luxurious coupe at the very top of the BMW range allowing the 6er to be more of a drivers GT than luxurious GT. What happens to the 6er Gran Coupe? Under discussion is the former approach with the CS Concept in order to place it as a single or variant of an extensive model hence the CS original idea as the 8er. Which is something being investigated in order to take advantage of the continuous growth of the high end luxury market in place of luxury sedans and to provide sustainability to a single model. Similar reasons are why the X7 is now a reality. BMWs Vision Future Luxury Concept was to showcase how the BMW brand could be stretched further upmarket , an actual request for customers wanting something highly individual and exclusive but with that BMW dynamic edge. The car is currently on an evaluation tour to gain feedback on such a model. But given its exclusivity it would be built on the same architecture as the next series of Rolls-Royce suggesting one option of having the car finished on a separate line at the Rolls-Royce factory in Goodwood England. Another option on discussion is the feasibility of the 9er being a fully produced BMW individual model which will allow for full individuality in design and material finish and color for the interior. A sort of be-spoke model built on existing architecture but available to the most exclusive customers. A similar option was discussed for a homage series of models built using existing mechanicals under be-spoke models like the BMW m1 homage. But this became a factor that was shelved because of the economic crisis at the time. Other ways BMW intend to save money is to equip their manufacturing works with sustainable Eco-technology therefore reducing plant emissions. Another ingenious of way of using cost-cutting involves looking at the manufacturing of materials in which metal not needed can be removed and recycled and materials that are not visible to the naked eye in an interior can be replaced for sustainable and lighter materials. This i8 video shows what to expect within future BMW models which not only will cut cost but also weight across the whole portfolio. The first product BMW of the core family to show extensive weight loss due to placement of new materials and replacement of existing materials will be the all-new 7er. All under the philosophy of BMW EfficientDynamics.
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06-28-2014, 06:11 AM | #19 | |
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Hi, Scott26.
You mention that coupés and Z models won't be based on the new 35up platform, but only explain about the next 6 Series coupé and cabrio. Would you shed some ligth over the next 2er and 4er? On the other hand, there have been numerous rumours arount the net about a central/rear engined model stemming out of the BMW/Toyota collaboration that could try to unseat the 911, with the sugerent name of Silk Road 2. Any probability of this becoming real? Thanks a lot for your time, your patience and your scoops, man. Cybo. Quote:
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07-01-2014, 11:49 AM | #20 | |
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07-01-2014, 12:21 PM | #21 |
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07-01-2014, 12:28 PM | #22 |
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Doesn't really matter how much R&D money VW spends, they just don't seem to grasp the US market. Cars like the Passat and what not barely make a big splash in the US market compared to the competition from the US and Japanese.
Maybe they should ask their luxury arm, Audi, they certainly get the US market. I don't understand how they could get it so right and VW get it so wrong. |
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