BMW will 'chase profit more than volume'

BMW says it intends to concentrate on developing larger models which are more profitable, writes Brian Byrne.

And it says it won't 'push' its smaller cars based on the FWD UKL platform underpinning the latest Minis and the X1 small SUV.

That said, the brand intends to roll out 40 cars over the next two years, both new and revised models. Two of the new ones will be a compact SUV, the X2, and a large X7 SUV positioned ahead of the X5 and X6.

CEO Harald Krueger says the company is more interested in profitability than in the 'sales volume race'.

Last year BMW was overtaken by arch-rival Mercedes-Benz for the first time in more than ten years. The Munich company's profits also fell to its lowest in six years.

Krueger also suggested that small models which don't have a growth potential may be dropped.

Pictured is the new generation 5 Series which has just gone on sale in Ireland.