New X1 to top BMW’s sales charts

BMW Australia says its newly launched X1 SUV will become the brand’s highest selling car in 2023 with the change in size, competitive pricing and uptick in standard equipment expected to appeal to a broader target market than ever before.

Speaking to GoAuto at the Australian launch of the new BMW X1 last week, BMW X Model range product and planning manager Daniel Silverwood said the new compact SUV would quickly overtake the mid-sized X3 as the Bavarian brand’s best-seller..

“Given its pricing and positioning, the X1 will no doubt become our highest selling car next year,” he said.

“It’s going to appeal to various sectors, and perhaps now, even more than the X3, the X1 will have far greater reach in terms of the demographic that it brings in.”

Year to date, X3 sales are up 18.6 per cent on 4110 units, accounting for almost 22 per cent of all BMW deliveries in this country and 1833 units ahead of the X1.

While sales of the X1 are skewed this year due to the generational change, it remains fourth in the table of most-popular BMWs – after the X3, X5 and 3 Series – an order that was similar in 2021, except 3 Series sales outstripped those of the X5 and X3 volume was a more modest 17 per cent of overall BMW deliveries.

Last year the X1’s 2986 sales were bettered by the Audi Q3 (5707 units) and Volvo XC40 (3687), placing it third in the small SUV above $40K segment ahead of the Mercedes-Benz GLA (2624) and Lexus UX (1744), so overtaking the X3 could also move the X1 up a place in the segment sales charts.

Mr Silverwood described the new X1 as “a little more practical, a little more useful, and it’s certainly very competitively priced”.

“The feature list is also very appealing to those who may be looking to downsize, or perhaps enter the BMW family for the first time. There really is no compromise on features with the X1,” he said.

Before the all-electric iX1 arrives next year, the two-variant X1 range will be priced from $53,900 pls on-road costs in base front-drive sDrive18i form and $65,900 for the all-wheel drive xDrive20i.

Option bundles available for the X1 sDrive18i and xDrive20i include the Enhancement Pack with metallic paint, panoramic roof, Harman Kardon premium audio, sliding rear seats and a choice of interior surfacing for $4615 and $4000 respectively.

Entry-level X1 sDrive18i models further include Driving Assistant Pro and electric front seat adjustment as part of the upgrade.

Another option for X1 xDrive 20i variants is an M Sport bundle comprising gear shift paddles, 19-inch M Sport alloys, adaptive M Sport suspension and steering, M aluminium ‘hexacode’ dark interior trim, M leather steering wheel, M high gloss shadow line garnishing and M high gloss roof rails for $3000.

Mr Silverwood explained that customer desires, coupled with the simplification of the ordering process at a dealer level, had prompted BMW Australia to bundle options for the new X1 into logical groups.

He said the move, which mimics that offered by Lexus and other premium marques, will improve stock levels and reduce customer delivery times.

“Ultimately, the decision to bundle options is customer driven. However, the features are grouped together from factory packaging, and based around the optimal package structure at a local level,” Mr Silverwood told GoAuto.

“We approached dealers around the country for their feedback and unanimously they told us customers want higher spec. When you hear that from the dealers it makes the whole process of getting alignment on our side, the whole sign-off process, much easier.

“It’s something we’ve been working on a lot in the past 18-24 months: more specification, simpler packaging. It makes things a lot easier for our dealers when it comes to stocking cars, which should mean we are able to get customers into the car they want a lot sooner.

“We’re also finding that because our cars are now so well-specified in standard form that it is becoming less of a thing with customers saying, ‘I’d like to add this or I would like that’. We’re finding there’s little to option on top of the standard car, so this move just becomes logical.”

Petrol-powered X1 variants will be joined by a pure electric variant, the iX1 xDrive 30, topping the range at $82,900 + ORC from the first quarter of 2023 and further broadening the appeal of the expectedly popular model.

While Mr Silverwood said it was difficult to gauge the ratio battery electric X1s will hold within the range, he estimates that the high specification and competitive price offered will further help to cement the X1’s popularity.

“It’s a little too early to say definitively, but at the moment I would say given our pricing and positioning, we’re giving it the best chance to become one of our highest selling models next year,” he said.

2023 BMW X1 pricing*:

*Pricing excludes on-road costs.