Quote:
Originally Posted by JNoSol
I can think of 3 reasons: One, the X5 M50d costs $108k USD (82k EUR). Two, the price of diesel is 20-30% higher than Premium gas (at least in the Midwest), offsetting the fuel savings. Three, if you're going to pay $108k for an SUV, why not get the X5m Petrol or Porsche Cayenne Turbo?
The diesel SUV segment is already filled by the X5 35d, which gets better fuel economy and make sense to Americans.
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In reality, if they did offer it here, it wouldn't be 100k; probably more like 75-80k. I mean the M3 is like 100k USD in Europe (or at least it was when I paid in the 60s), so it isn't just a 1 to 1 conversion. The US is their largest market.
I would agree that this likely doesn't make sense to Americans. Spending on a high performance diesel vs a V8 - most Americans will pick the V8.
All that being said, there are also other costs associated with bringing a new model - crash testing, etc. An industry insider can probably give you more details.