BMW Will Launch a Crucial Redesign of Its Mainstay 3-Series in March 2005

BERLIN October 26, 2004; The AP reported that German automaker BMW will launch a crucial redesign of its mainstay 3-Series in March, the company said Tuesday. The new line is expected to challenge German rival Mercedes and its C-Class cars.

The midsize 3-Series, last redone in 1998, provides more than half of sales volume for the core BMW brand of the Munich-based company, which also makes Mini and Rolls-Royce models.

The 3-Series will get more powerful four- and six-cylinder engines and a six-speed transmission, either automatic or manual -- one gear more than its predecessor. It will be slightly wider and taller, the company said.

The styling is more restrained than the remakes of the company's larger, more expensive 7-Series, with its eye-catching taller trunk lid, and the intermediate 5-series and its swept-back headlights.

Magnesium parts will help cut the car's weight, and it will now start at the push of a button instead of the turn of a key.

It will go on sale March 5 and be shown off at next year's Geneva Auto Show, the company said. Some 2.9 million vehicles of the previous four generations of 3-Series have been sold.

The redesign is aimed at the midsize C-Class made by DaimlerChrysler AG's Mercedes division, which won't reach the market in redesigned form until 2007.

BMW also said that it will bring out a "basic" four-cylinder version of the 3-Series in the fall of 2005. This would appear to encroach on the market for its new compact 1-Series, which was launched last month. But BMW expects "no cannibalization," said spokesman Andreas Sauer.

Sauer said the price of the new 3-Series should be "at the same level" as the previous version, when adjusted for the added equipment. The previous version started at 20,800 euros excluding sales taxes, the equivalent of $26,600 at the current exchange rate, although the company said the final prices haven't yet been decided.

Meanwhile, BMW of North America and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. said Tuesday that Sirius will be available as a factory-installed option on the 2006 BMW 3 Series starting next summer.

The manufacturer's suggested retail price for the option will be $595, which includes a one-year prepaid subscription to the service.

Sirius already is a factory-installed option on the 2005 5 Series, 6 Series and 7 Series models. It also is available as a dealer-installed accessory on several other models.

Sirius' satellite radios offer more than 120 channels of programming. The company has about a quarter of the subscribers of larger rival XM Satellite Radio Inc.