New BMW 3 Series Convertible out this month

On sale in the UK from the 24 March is the fourth generation of BMW 3 Series Convertibles. Two models will be initially available; the 325i SE priced at £33,065 and the 335i SE costing £37,930.

In April these two models will be followed by the main selling 320i SE at £30,630, the 330i SE at £36,395 and the 330d SE at £36,770. Also in April BMW UK will introduce M Sport variants of each of these five core models.

M Sport specification with 18-inch alloy wheels, a body aerodynamics package, sports suspension and other sports trim adds £2,550 to the retail price. Customer opting for the BMW M Sport specification traditionally account for over 80% of sales.

The retail prices for the new 3 Series Convertible represent a 10% price increase over the outgoing models, but say BMW UK, once the added specification price adjustment has been factored in the increase is only 2.9 per cent.

Graham Robinson, product manager for BMW UK said this week at the media launch of the new 3 Series Convertible that in the past retail customers have been the biggest group of buyers. Company car users have in the past only accounted for 10% of sales due in part to fleets not wishing to have vehicles with a canvas roof.

However as the new 3 Series Convertible is the first BMW open top car to have a folding metal roof they expect the fleet sector to account for around 25% of sales as the metal top offers better security.

He added that traditionally 80% of their Convertible customers were male but in reality the drivers of the cars were a 50/50 split male to female. The average age of users is around 43 years of age. The majority of customers are expected to choose BMW’s six speed automatic transmission over the standard six-speed manual gearbox.

Limited supplies of the new Convertible means that the UK will have around 5,800 units for UK customers this year and 40% of those are already sold such is the pent up demand. Overall the UK is the third largest market in the world for BMW vehicle sales behind Germany and the USA and the UK is the second largest market after the USA for sales of Convertible models.

In the UK’s compact premium sector of the convertible market annual sales are around 21,000 units with BMW being the market leader with 8,000 annual registrations.

Jim O’Donnell, managing director of BMW UK, said this week at the media event in sunny Spain, “From 2001 onwards for six consecutive years BMW in the UK has achieved annual record sales and 2007 will be another one for use.

"Sales so far are marginally down over the same period last year due to our customers waiting for the revised 1 and 5 Series, the all new X5 SUV and of course the 3 Series Convertible. We expect to have a strong new registration plate March sales period.”

He added, “For us retail sales are holding up strongly which is not the case for the industry as a whole. There is increased interest in the brand from a new generation of entrepreneurs and the self employed so we see further growth opportunities in the business user sector which we are targeting this year. Currently 43% of our cars are bought on BMW Finance schemes which are ideal for business users and the retail market.”

A PCP example for the new 3 Series 325i SE manual Convertible model over the traditional the 36month/ 36,000 mile contract purchase period, with an ARR of 9.6%, requires a customer to pay a 10% deposit followed by 36 monthly payments of £551.94. The final ‘balloon’ payment, if required by the customer to purchase the car outright, is £16,742.96.