Toyota routinely sells more than 150,000 examples of the Prius hybrid in the United States each year – making it the third best-selling vehicle in the Toyota lineup – but BMW has a much more modest sales target for its first two hybrid vehicles – the ActiveHybrid X6 and ActiveHybrid 7.
In an interview with Autoweek, BMW North America CEO Jim O’Donnell revealed that hybrids will only be a minor factor in BMW’s overall sales. BMW is only targeting 1,000 U.S. sales –combined – of the ActiveHybrid X6 and ActiveHybrid 7 during the vehicles’ first 12 months on the market. Broken down, that represents less than 1 percent of BMW’s total U.S. sales.
The ActiveHybrid X6 – which will debut at this month’s Frankfurt Motor Show – will produce an un-hybrid like 480 horsepower and 575 lb-ft of torque. Despite that amount of power, the ActiveHybrid X6’s hybrid system will improve fuel economy by about 20 percent over its non-hybrid counterpart.
The ActiveHybrid 7 – also slated to make its world debut in Frankfurt – makes 455 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. Unlike the ActiveHybrid X6, the ActiveHybrid 7 will feature a lithium-ion battery pack, helping to improve fuel economy by 15 percent.
Although hybrids will help BMW to pass more stringent fuel economy regulations, the German automaker is still relying on its diesel technology for the greatest gains. In the coming years, BMW expects diesels to account for as much as 20 percent of its U.S. sales.
