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BMW Australia ‘quietly confident’ 2019 sales will grow

BMW Australia is "quietly confident" its sales will grow during the second half of 2019, as its SUV range expands and consumer confidence returns after the federal election.


The company's sales have been relatively stable throughout 2019, with deliveries down 4.0 per cent year-to-date at the end of June. That's despite an overall market slide of 8.4 per cent compared to 2018, and respective drops of 13.2 and 32.2 per cent for rivals Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

Strong demand for SUVs has helped drive sales – more than 60 per cent of all BMWs delivered in Australia wear an X badge. Along with the new X6, the X5 and X7 ranges will grow during the fourth quarter of 2019.

The X5 was the best-selling large SUV over $70k in June, while the X7 comfortably topped the SUV over $100k class.

"We've had some feedback from dealers that there's been more people walking into dealerships post the election," Brendan Michel, BMW Australia's head of product and market planning, told media in New Zealand. "There's a bit more confidence out there now.

"We're expecting a pretty big second half of this year," he continued. "We're quietly on the confident side, with everything that's launched in the first half and everything that's coming, all these new engine variants... it's going to be a big second half for us."

BMW Australia will welcome a glut of new models to its SUV line-up before the end of 2019, with a new entry-level X5 and petrol V8 X5 and X7 options joining the range.

The X5 range will be bolstered by a new xDrive25d, blending a 170kW and 500Nm four-cylinder twin-turbo diesel engine with all-wheel drive.

At the moment, the X5 range starts at $112,990 before on-road costs. Expect the 25d to start below $100,000 before on-roads, pitching it directly against the entry-level Mercedes-Benz GLE300d.

Atop the range, the M50d will be joined by an M50i. It's powered by the same 4.4-litre petrol V8 engine as the M850i, putting out 390kW of power and 750Nm of torque. BMW says it'll hit 100km/h in 4.3 seconds from standstill.

The range-topping X5 M50d is currently priced at $149,900 before on-road costs – expect the M50i to be priced very similarly.

Finally, the X7 M50i will join the M50d atop the BMW SUV range. Outputs are identical to those offered in the X5, and a starting price around $170,000 is likely.

The new range of X5 and X7 models will arrive in the fourth quarter of 2019, along with the new X6. The new front-wheel drive BMW 1 Series will also be here late in 2019 in 118i and M135i guises.

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