UK allocation seem low on high end cars

[greg_h]

I have been reading in the post regarding the number of M5's the UK will get. For a country of 60M it seems kind of low. Why is this?

I know that when the 996tt came out the number that were going to be available in the UK was very small. Is this an issue with high horsepower cars?

[Ashok Arora]

I think it's more to with limited right hand production than anything else. UK allocation is 3 per dealer initially which is pretty pathetic.

[AJ]

the uae gets quite a few. so it is not a matter of shortage of rhd.

maybe the brits' financial abilities are not competitive compared to the rest of the world? or maybe their taste is different. i've seen quite a few exotic cars in london, so methinks that the afluent folks who can buy a 60k+ pound car rather prefer something more flashy?...

who knows...

alex
few cars

[M6 Forever]

I believe it is simply supply and demand.

[dirk]

From what i understood the waiting lists fill up pretty quickly in the UK, it was the case for the 996 turbo.

It probably has something to do with the right hand drive production, or maybe they have some complicated formula for it which states that its so many percent of previously sold cars or whatever, i have no idea.

[JohnH]

There seems to be a lot of confusion in the UK at the moment regarding the availability of M5s in 2005. What we do know is that the dealers will launch it in May 05 and they will have a demo version at that time as well as some customer cars. Previously people have stated that the number of M5s in 2005 will be 450 which when divided between 150+ dealers is approximately 3 poer dealer. What I think is unclear is whether this is the allocation for the launch ie 1 demo + 2 customer cars or whether this is the total allocation of UK M5s for 2005.

[vndkshn]

Originally Posted by JohnH

Previously people have stated that the number of M5s in 2005 will be 450 which when divided between 150+ dealers is approximately 3 poer dealer. What I think is unclear is whether this is the allocation for the launch ie 1 demo + 2 customer cars or whether this is the total allocation of UK M5s for 2005.

And keep in mind that most likely, not all dealers will get M5 allocations.

[Ashok Arora]

Originally Posted by vndkshn

And keep in mind that most likely, not all dealers will get M5 allocations.

How does that work then?

[dirk]

Originally Posted by Ashok Arora

How does that work then?

Well if you're a small dealer out in the middle of nowhere and the most expensive car youve sold is a 320d to the local mayor then they are not gonna assume you will have much use for an M5.

[JohnH]

Originally Posted by dirk

Well if you're a small dealer out in the middle of nowhere and the most expensive car youve sold is a 320d to the local mayor then they are not gonna assume you will have much use for an M5.

Think you will find that in the UK all the really small dealers are already gone or on their way. BMW GB has introduced a corporate standard for dealers which includes size of showroom and workshop facilities. I think tyou need to be able to dislay a minimum of 10 or 12 cars in a straight line inside the showroom to remain a dealer.

[dirk]

Originally Posted by JohnH

Think you will find that in the UK all the really small dealers are already gone or on their way. BMW GB has introduced a corporate standard for dealers which includes size of showroom and workshop facilities. I think tyou need to be able to dislay a minimum of 10 or 12 cars in a straight line inside the showroom to remain a dealer.

Ok sorry my bad... still i think that the will look at where they are likely to sell the new m5, im sure there are dealers who sell very few of the really expensive bmw's.

[vndkshn]

Originally Posted by Ashok Arora

How does that work then?

Not sure about across the pond, but I know here that several dealers get much smaller allotments due to the number of cars they move, their markets, etc. Even in the same market, different dealers get different numbers of cars based on their past performance. Check with M5Manny, he either works at or owns a dealership up in Jersey.

[JohnH]

As with anywhere the bigger the dealer the more allocation he is likely to get. It is interesting that dealers are now rewarded fior selling 'out of favour' models by getting allocations of 'hard to get' models. For example if a dealer sells so many 7 series he will get his allocation of X5s or Z4s increased. My belief is that for the initial launch most dealers will get a minimum of one demo and one customer car and from then onwards the law of the jungle will apply!!!