BMW gears up for U.S. hybrid
Automotive News reports on BMW's plans to build a hybrid based on the X6 model.
BMW's sole U.S. assembly plant is preparing to launch a hybrid version of the X6 sports coupe late this year, said Josef Kersher, president of BMW Manufacturing Co., of Spartanburg, S.C. But that doesn't mean the automaker is losing faith that U.S. buyers eventually will embrace diesel vehicles, he said.
More than half of the X5 crossovers built in Spartanburg are diesels, Kersher said. Today, the vast majority of those are shipped overseas, he said. Spartanburg supplies all the X5s and X6s for the world market, Kersher said.
BMW has faith that Americans will buy diesels if they give them a try, he said. Getting those consumers to consider diesels will require more aggressive marketing and dealer demonstrations to show that diesels are clean, fuel-efficient, and powerful, Kersher said.
(Source: Automotive News)