BMW Doesn’t Want To Eliminate V8s From Every Market, Especially Ours

BMW has confirmed that it will be retaining the V8 for specific markets where it believes demand will remain strong, including North America. This decision comes at a point where many automakers are moving away from larger motors in order to reduce production costs and appease emissions regulations.

Despite automakers discussing the prospect of further shrinking the size of modern powertrains in order to comply with government restrictions, BMW management has come to the conclusion that not every market is interested — specifically North America and the Middle East.

BMW development head Frank Weber actually confirmed this with Automotive News, ironically during a discussion about how the brand plans to outperform German rivals in terms of its electrification strategy.

“There are markets such as the U.S. and Middle East where you cannot replace V8s with inline-six hybrids,” explained Webber. “This is not about performance. They are comparable in terms of acceleration, but customers like the smoothness, sound, and feeling of a V8. We will continue to offer V8s.”

Markets that were already accustomed to open roads, longer driving distances, and larger engines have shown themselves to be significantly less tolerant toward electrification and powertrain downsizing. This means pulling options off the table that were previously seen as desirable can come with serious consequences in terms of how a brand is perceived.

We’ve seen this happen to Stellantis after the company decided to supplant the HEMI V8s with the 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six Hurricane engine. Brands associated with V8 power (e.g. Ram and Dodge) were suddenly running with something smaller, sending both hardcore and even fair-weather fans into a tizzy.

I’ve driven the Hurricane-equipped Ram pickups. From a purely functional standpoint, you don’t really lose too much beyond some towing and the sound of the V8. However, there are likewise concerns that the relatively complex nature of the inline-six and its smaller displacement are unlikely to improve long-term reliability. In the land of big trucks, downsizing can also be seen as undesirable — especially when customers aren’t seeing it coincide with price reductions or massive improvements in fuel efficiency.

Unless you’re selling vehicles to the kind of people that don’t think about status or the mechanical makeup of their machine, shrinking engines run the risk of tainting the brand. Buick Encore or Chevrolet Trax drivers probably aren’t going to care that the default engine went from being an 1.4-liter four-cylinder turbo to an even smaller 1.2-liter three-cylinder turbo between generations.

But fans of the BMW M5 (pictured) probably will care because they’re significantly more likely to open the hood and are purchasing the model specifically because of what’s located beneath it. Over the years, they’ve seen the sedan go from running I6s to V8s and then onto V10s before reverting back to V8s again. That’s not to suggest that there aren’t loads of BMW fans that believe the straight-six is the best motor ever to exist. But drivers of a particular model aren’t typically going to want to feel like the latest incarnation has been neutered by way of powertrain downsizing if they’re considering spending their own money, even if the resulting product is technically more powerful.

“What pulls people into BMW showrooms is that they have the choice of different powertrain solutions in the model they want,” said Webber.

In China, interior features and tech take precedence over driving dynamics or performance hardware. But it’s often the inverse in North America and some automakers are starting to come to that realization. Balancing those two markets (and others) will be essential for every company selling globally. Still, we don’t know exactly what that means for powertrain development moving forward. BMW has stated that it’s still wholly committed to electrifying its fleet (via the Neue Klasse platform) while still offering a variety of options to cater to an array of customers. But it seems most plausible that available V8s will be limited to its most high-performance applications.

Hybridization will be the other piece of the puzzle for combustion models. BMW has already shown off "M Hybrid" V8 performance applications and it seems like a decent compromise if the goal is to see how much power you can cram beneath the sheet metal of a road-going vehicle while remaining emissions compliant. However, all that hardware is likewise making automobiles comically heavy. For example, the BMW M5 has gained 2,200 pounds in the 40 years it has been on sale — nearly doubling its original curb weight.

We’ve said before that there are no free lunches. Every decision is a tradeoff and the only real way to maximize value is through the consistent refinement of a given product. BMW and the rest of the industry are still deeply entrenched in the mindset of continuing to pivot toward electrification and digitization. But it’s good to see that leadership indicating that it’s at least aware that there are a few markets where the strategy isn’t resonating. That said, it still feels like the broader industry has forgotten that listening to consumer feedback is an essential part of running a successful business. There remains plenty of room for improvement and BMW seems hip to this while Mercedes-Benz keeps giving AMG models smaller engines and more club-inspired interiors.

[Images: BMW]

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