BMW steps up M2 Coupe supply

SPORTSCAR buyers in Australia have gone from famine to feast, with some overseas manufacturers super-sizing shipments of in-demand performance machines Down Under.

BMW is the latest importer to open the supply lines, granting BMW Group Australia extra servings of the acclaimed M2 Coupe, to the point where the smallest and most popular M car’s months-long waiting list has been sated and cars are now available for immediate delivery.

Similarly, Ford Australia has been getting jumbo servings of its Mustang from the United States, with sales of the two-door coupe soaring to a record 1276 units last month.

While overall sales of BMW’s 2 Series Coupe and Convertible range are down 15.6 per cent this year, BMW Group Australia CEO Marc Werner said M2 sales had been strong from the outset.

“From an initial 300-unit Australia allocation, we were successful in securing 400 2016-build M2s, which were quickly snapped up,” he said.

“This presented us with a strong base to ask for further supply increases to match the sustained demand.

“As a result, we can now announce that Australia has again increased its allocation. This has ensured wait times are minimised, and dealers have immediately available stock. If you want an M2, come and get one.” GoAuto understands BMW Australia ended up getting 400 2016-build M2s, with a further 300 since then. Now, another large batch is on its way, thanks to negotiations by Mr Werner in Munich.

To the end of June, BMW had sold 671 of the 700 M2s shipped to Australia at that point, making the feisty two-door coupe the top-selling M-enhanced model in the range and lifting BMW Group Australia’s percentage of M-vehicle sales to 6.1 per cent – the highest in the world, ahead of other top-ranked M markets South Africa and Canada.

BMW says the global average is 2.0 per cent.

BMW’s rivals, Mercedes-Benz and Audi, boast similarly high levels of AMG and Audi Sport sales in Australia.

Priced at $99,500 plus on-road costs or $110,034 drive-away (Melbourne price), the rear-wheel-drive M2 Coupe is the only vehicle in its class with a six-cylinder engine – BMW’s turbo-charged 3.0-litre inline six producing 272kW of power and 465Nm of torque.

Equipped with a dual-clutch seven-speed transmission, the M2 can accelerate from zero to 100km/h in 4.3 seconds. The six-speed manual version – a no-cost option – makes the sprint in 4.5s.