BMW reveals new models pipeline

BMW is preparing to enter the market for car-style people carriers, the firm's chief has told BBC News.

Speaking at a BMW event ahead of the Geneva motor show, Helmut Panke predicted demand for such crossover vehicles would soar in Europe. In contrast, he said, the popularity of van-style seven-seat vehicles and traditional saloon cars would fade. "Customers are moving out of the mini-van (and) traditional concepts are not as attractive anymore," he said. "We have decided that BMW will enter the [crossover] segment," he said in the clearest indication yet about the car maker's intentions.

Mr Panke praised the Honda Accura as the "best execution" yet of a crossover vehicle. "We have decided that the BMW brand will enter the segment," he said.

A decision on just how BMW will manage its entry into the new market is due in the first half of 2005. Typically it takes about three years from when a decision is taken before a new model hits the streets, Mr Panke said, implying that a BMW crossover could be on the market by 2008. The coming switch is driven in part by the need for successful carmakers to stay aware of trans-Atlantic differences in the car market, Mr Panke insisted. While in the US drivers tend to prefer sports utility vehicles (SUVs), such as the BMW X5 and its sibling X3, in Europe demand for crossover vehicles is likely to be considerable, Mr Panke said. "There's a growing market here," he said. "We are going to go that way."