Special edition models are pretty usual in the auto market. Sometimes they are about creating classics, sometimes they are about clearing inventory, but most of the time they are about pushing up sales figures.
But BMW is about to introduce something quite surprising (well ‘shocking’ is the right word) in the Chinese market.
Luxury marquees are very fastidious about their image. In fact, the make sure that they drape every slightest negative term such as ‘stripped out’ with extremely positive words like ‘Corporate Edition’. But then again, they have to because they are not selling cars, they are selling aspirations.
But whose aspirations would lead them to buy this BMW X1 Beggar’s Edition? According to ChinaCarTimes, BMW will soon launch a BMW X1 'Qi Gai Ban' which translates into 'Beggar edition.' As the name suggests, it does not have much in terms of equipment. The headlamps have been replaced with simple units. The head lamp washers have been ditched and so is the tail lamps braking light.
On the inside, the steering mounted controls, GPS/Entertainment console, leather trimming, automatic gear box - all of them gone!
Not surprisingly, this BMW X1 Beggar’s Edition is 3 lakh cheaper than the previous entry level BMW X1 in China.
BMW has been known to create some really interesting advertisement for their cars. It would be interesting to see how BMW China manages to market this model.
[Source: ChinaCarTimes.com via BitAuto.com]
