BMW Aims Big for the Future

At a press conference in Munich on November 11, BMW Motorrad announced a five-year plan to reach sales of 200,000 units by 2020. It also presented the new G310R single-cylinder model (see G310R First Look) which will play a key role in driving that steep increase.

Sales of BMW motorcycles and scooters are already at an all-time high, with 121,622 units delivered to customers around the world in the first ten months of this year—up 11.5 percent on the same period one year ago. What’s more, that’s close to the previous full year’s level of 123,495 in 2014. But now BMW’s main board has set its motorcycle division new targets for the next five years, which it plans to meet partly by expanding its coverage into other market sectors via all-new platforms.

“We want to sustain our profitable growth in the motorcycle segment over the coming years," declared Peter Schwarzenbauer, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG who’s responsible for the Group’s MINI, BMW Motorrad and Rolls-Royce divisions. "To achieve this, we expect an increase in BMW Motorrad sales of more than 50 percent from 2014 to 2020, and we are expanding our dealership network from currently over 1,100 to about 1,500 retail outlets by 2020.” This is intended to build on BMW’s current position as market leader in 26 countries, according to the company.

Entry into the sub-500cc capacity segment will lay the foundation for this rapid projected growth, starting with the launch in Munich of the new BMW G310R, which BMW Motorrad CEO Stephan Schaller terms “a compact, agile single-cylinder motorcycle that has been specially designed for the growing Asian and South American markets, as well as Europe". When deliveries begin in the second half of 2016, it will be aimed both at developed markets such as Europe, Australia, Japan, and (in 2017) the US. It will also be a prestige model in developing markets such as Brazil and India. Versions of the G310R manufactured by Indian partner TVS will be assembled from “complete knock down” kits  in BMW’s Manaus factory. In India, the G310 will benefit from being a locally made product as it will be free of the steep taxes affecting imported models there.

BMW’s core business will "remain the exclusive premium segment above 500cc,” with the RnineT launched in 2013 a key growth model in this segment, with more than 8,600 units already delivered in 2015. “BMW will build on the success of our classic models with the BMW RnineT Scrambler derivative, which will celebrate its world premiere at the EICMA motorcycle show on 17 November," said Schaller. “With the countless possibilities for individualisation offered by the BMW RnineT and the BMW RnineT Scrambler, we see tremendous potential in the US market, in particular.”

As with all BMW platforms, the G310R is merely the first role of the dice for the German manufacturer, with Stephan Schaller admitting to “at least three” different variants under development of the company’s new Indian-built single-cylinder platform. A sporty G310R (or RS) as well as a miniature GS are expected.