[Max Well]

A rather well-written review of the G01 geared mainly toward those considering a(n) SUV/SAV purchase, highlighting some ordering options and the competition.

Summary: "The 2018 BMW X3 is the class of the field..."

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/...-money-can-buy

[Slalom]

Good reviews, but the sales numbers do not reflect that. Is it supply, price or something else? If my local MB dealer had not been incapable of selling, I might have bought one.

[Max Well]

Originally Posted by Slalom

Good reviews, but the sales numbers do not reflect that. Is it supply, price or something else?

I figured it might be related to supply/delivery issues, and I'm not sure when the sale officially counts (if it is when one takes delivery then suspect the overseas fuel filter issue has delayed smooth flow in that regards).

Here are the actual Spartanburg 'production' numbers. I've been following since November but purposely did not include December (Holiday shut-down), or January and February because of that very issue. As more of the plants are now producing X3s globally (S. Africa and India in April), and China in the future, it might be more difficult to follow global production as I haven't seen such documentation for those factories as I have with the Spartanburg plant.

[Bufalo]

Originally Posted by Slalom

Good reviews, but the sales numbers do not reflect that. Is it supply, price or something else? If my local MB dealer had not been incapable of selling, I might have bought one.

It was the best selling vehicle in BMW's mix in the month of April.

[Max Well]

Originally Posted by Bufalo

It was the best selling vehicle in BMW's mix in the month of April.

That seems to fit what I'm reading into the following article which states the first production X3s from Rosslyn were shipped out last Friday, bound for Europe - https://citizen.co.za/motoring/motor...ort-to-europe/

An interesting article as it shows images of the train and X3s awaiting loading, and it also discusses annual production numbers and how they had to upgrade the plant further because of the demand - "However, BMW under-estimated the phenomenal demand for the new BMW X3 and, after a further R160m investment to increase linespeed, the maximum capacity of the plant was raised almost 10% to 76000 units a year."

Coupled with Spartanburg, and India, and then China, it seems possible this may indeed take over the #1 spot for BMW.

[darrylo]

Yeah, something's fishy.

From BMW itself, X3 sales for the first 3 months of 2018 are down ~20% compared to 2017, and March 2018 X3 sales were down almost ~30% compared to March 2017. If these are caused by "supplier issues", some heads had better roll.

[Max Well]

Originally Posted by darrylo

... If these are caused by "supplier issues", some heads had better roll.

Cue Judas Priest

What does seem clear, the fuel particle filter issue has diminished BMW's ability to deliver G01s (as noted in the UK thread). And whether the MSport steering wheel issue in US and Canada, and then the Drivers Assist are also contributing is tough to measure, but it would seem possible. Will be interesting to see the numbers once these concerns are resolved - perhaps with MY2019.

[mspringer]

Here are the US sales numbers for the X3, it's 2 closest competitors, the Audi Q5 and MB GLC from Jan thru April along with the changes from 2017: from http://carsalesbase.com/us-car-sales-data/bmw/bmw-x3/

Audi Q5 19305 +18%
BMW X3 14647 - 13%
MB GLC 22113 +87%

The X3 has trailed both competitors in sales every month of the year. So in the US the X3 has so far not been a big sales success. It's important to note the vast majority of all these SUVs are the 4 cylinder versions so whatever additional characteristics the 6 cylinder cars bring aren't important. The question for BMW is why are sales down vs last year and their competitors. At least where I live (NYC metro area), supply hasn't been an issue as most dealers have 20-30+ sitting on their lots.

[darksilkx1]

Originally Posted by mspringer

Here are the US sales numbers for the X3, it's 2 closest competitors, the Audi Q5 and MB GLC from Jan thru April along with the changes from 2017: from http://carsalesbase.com/us-car-sales-data/bmw/bmw-x3/

Audi Q5 19305 +18%
BMW X3 14647 - 13%
MB GLC 22113 +87%

The X3 has trailed both competitors in sales every month of the year. So in the US the X3 has so far not been a big sales success. It's important to note the vast majority of all these SUVs are the 4 cylinder versions so whatever additional characteristics the 6 cylinder cars bring aren't important. The question for BMW is why are sales down vs last year and their competitors. At least where I live (NYC metro area), supply hasn't been an issue as most dealers have 20-30+ sitting on their lots.

I guess it hasn't been my imagination then. I've seen a grand total of three X3's out and about in Tampa since they were released last year (I obviously see a whole lot more when I go in to the dealership). I keep thinking they must still be ramping up production.

[Bimar]

Could it be the new G01 X3 differentiation from the F25 is too small except the M40i and not enough to sway new owners to the brand.