BMW boss defends XM’s styling: ‘I need controversy’

BMW has raised various eyebrows with its latest designs, and that is utterly intentional. Firm boss Oliver Zipse argued {that a} controversial-looking automotive is healthier than one which leaves onlookers detached, and he pledged to proceed pushing the envelope.

“If you wish to change design, any step into the longer term that’s perceived as new shall be controversial mechanically. There isn’t any such factor as a future-oriented design with out controversy,” he defined in an interview with Australian publication CarSales.

Zipse cited the automobiles designed underneath Chris Bangle within the 2000s for instance: the E65-generation 7 Sequence and the E9X-generation 3 Sequence left nobody detached, and the head-turning look in the end elevated purchaser consciousness. He additionally floated the XM (pictured), a recently-unveiled SUV developed by BMW’s M division. Styling cues like the massive kidney grilles and the large hind lights have fueled quite a lot of debate, however Zipse famous the general response has been constructive. “There are numerous discussions right here, however virtually everybody loves it.”

One level to bear in mind is that BMW, like all automakers, designs automobiles for a selected target market. Somebody hoarding E32s and E34s undoubtedly has unkind phrases for BMW’s newest automobiles, however that is not who the Munich-based firm is attempting to enchantment to with, say, the i7.

“[The i7] won’t ever be a mass-market automotive. It should solely be a brilliant minority of people that will sit in that automotive. Nearly all of folks won’t ever sit in that automotive. It solely should be interesting to the shoppers who’re in that section, not anyone else,” he clarified. With that mentioned, he careworn the corporate will proceed to offer high-volume fashions like the three and 5 Sequence, the X1, and the X5 comparatively conservative-looking designs.

“I need controversy. If we do not have controversy [in the early design process], I already know it is too simple,” he advised CarSales. “Out of the controversy you get engagement. You get folks desirous about it and desirous about options.”