√BMW boss reveals why the new flagship XM is an SUV

BMW M could have made a successor to the M1, but that’s not what its customers want, according to the division’s boss.

The 2023 BMW XM is edging closer to its unveiling as BMW M’s flagship model – and first stand-alone M model in 40 years – in celebration of the performance arm’s 50th anniversary.

But while BMW has shown off a number of concept cars in recent years reminiscent of the low-slung M1 – BMW M’s first production car – division boss Frank van Meel has revealed to Autoblog why the company decided to go in a different direction for its second dedicated M product.

“When we did the M1, every car company that wanted to say ‘I have something special’ built a sports car – that was the segment everyone wanted to enter,” van Meel explained.

“If you look today at the biggest, most important, and fastest-growing segment, it’s clearly the SUV segment. And, in comparison to other manufacturers, we were still lacking this ultimate expressive luxury flagship at the top of M.”

As well as being the first stand-alone M product since the M1, the XM could be the most powerful model to ever come from the brand – with 550kW and 1000Nm previewed in the concept car from its plug-in hybrid twin-turbo V8, along with a pure-electric driving range of up to 80km.

When the BMW Concept XM was shown in November 2021, a spokesperson for BMW Australia also detailed the reasons behind the high-performance SUV.

“The BMW M brand and BMW X range are highly significant to Australia – one in five BMWs sold here wear an M badge and BMW X vehicles represent more than 60 per cent of our total sales volume,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“With that in mind, the BMW Concept XM has immediate appeal for our market. If the production model is made available to us, we will definitely offer it to our customers.”

Expect the 2023 BMW XM to be unveiled in its production guise in the coming months, as BMW M continues to celebrate its 50th birthday.

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