BMW Slashes XM Pricing to Try and Reinvigorate Sales According to Report

by Carl Malek | June 10, 2024

BMW reportedly forced to slash prices as slow-selling XM performance SUV remains glued to dealer lots

A new report suggests that BMW might be taking big steps to address the XM’s sluggish sales performance

When BMW released the XM SUV a short while back, the German auto giant was banking on the SUV being a halo entry for the company with the SUV also being the first stand-alone product for the M division since the M1 supercar. In theory, it had the performance to pull it off, with the 738 hp BMW being the most powerful model the company ever built.

However, all of that muscle was not enough to hide the fact that the XM is a very polarizing vehicle to look at, and with the XM being practically glued to dealer lots as a result, BMW is resorting to slashing prices to try and give the SUV’s sluggish sales a jumpstart.

XM gathering dust in showrooms

The XM has proven to be a proverbial benchwarmer in dealer lots due to its high price tag

The XM’s sales woes are a growing source of embarrassment for the company with the flagship SUV getting the second-worst amount of sales in the brand’s entire lineup with only 541 examples finding their way to buyers in the first half of 2024. That’s barely above the Z4 convertible and is a far cry from some of the numbers BMW envisioned for the XM when it made its way to showrooms.

A new report from Cars Direct revealed that BMW sent an internal memo to its dealerships on June 3rd that announced the new price cuts and the deals that are also part of the plan too. These price cuts would be split into two parts with buyers looking to lease an XM getting $17,500 off the base price while those looking to buy the SUV outright will get a slightly lower $15,000 price cut. The report doesn’t talk about any specific stipulations, but it does reveal that buyers who take the $15,000 discount will also get a 3.99% BMW financing deal that lasts for up to five years.

What’s Next?

The future remains uncertain for the XM

BMW for its part didn’t have any comment on the validity of the report and BMW’s customer website does not publicly mention the discounts either. However, pricing has emerged as a prominent flaw in the XM’s gameplan with a base model starting at $159,995 while the range-topping Label boosts that figure up to $185,995.

That price ladder is a tough pill to swallow especially when you consider that it’s also paired with exterior styling that is perhaps the most controversial that the company has ever done with the cartoonishly large twin-kidney grilles, odd stacked exhaust tips, and the bloated rear end creating a look that’s unbalanced and clunky. That’s a shame because the XM’s hybrid powertrain allows it to reach 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and buyers also get 31 miles of all-electric driving range.