BMW has taken a formal decision to diversify further - into the global market for multi-purpose vehicles, so-called "people carriers". It comes after nearly two years of studying the market's potential.
The company will decide before June which of several already-developed concept vehicles will form the basis of the project.
"We've now moved beyond the 'whether'; it's definitely coming in some form," Helmut Panke, chairman, told the FT.
The decision comes just a few months after BMW launched another big diversification, into the hatchback market with its 1-Series "small" car.
Two vehicles are understood to be under consideration: one based on BMW's already shown RFK1 (Function, Space Concept) concept vehicle, derived from the 3-Series; and the other on RFK2, a larger vehicle based on the 5-Series. Whichever is chosen, BMW is expected to use for its underpinnings the four-wheel-drive SUV versions of the 3 and 5 series, the X3 and X5 built at Spartanburg in North Carolina.
The RFK1-based vehicle is conceived as a premium competitor in the market for smaller MPVs such as General Motors' Zafira and Renault's Megane. The RFK2 would be closer in size to Renault's market-leading Espace.
Both, however, would be high-performance and highly specified, to compete against DaimlerChrysler's forthcoming Mercedes-Benz R-Class people carrier shortly to enter production at Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The R-Class is also based on an SUV, the M-Class, which has been in production at the Alabama plant since 1997 and a new version of which was unveiled in Detroit this week.
DaimlerChrysler is in the final stages of a $600m investment in the plant to double capacity from 80,000 to 160,000 in preparation for the R-Class joining the M-Class on the production line.
"We have got to be careful not just to offer a similar style to everybody else. It has got to drive and handle like a BMW," said Mr Panke. He declined to comment on what projected sales volumes were used in deciding at what point the project would be viable.
The 1-Series is already selling about 10 per cent above forecast, with 40,000 sold in Europe and the US after 3½ months and sales currently running at 10,000 a month.
