BMW 1 Series sedan, but only for China

Before you get excited and think you can go to your BMW dealer in South Africa and spec your new BMW 1 Series sedan, take note:  this car will only be available in China.

As the Chinese market is such a big one for sedans of different sizes, BMW Group with BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd (BBA) in China is exploring the compact premium sedan segment with the new BMW 1 Series sedan.

Yes, the concept shown as the BMW Concept Compact Sedan at the Guangzhou Motor Show, rumoured to be either the upcoming 1 Series sedan or a 2 Series Gran Coupé, is going into production in China, for China.  It also builds the China-only BMW 3 Series long-wheelbase as BMW 320Li, 328Li and 335Li, which is to cater for the Chinese buyers’ need to have more rear cabin space.

BMW (outside of China) seemingly either doesn’t see the need to compete with other compact premium sedan cars which are selling very well – namely the Audi A3 sedan and Mercedes-Benz CLA sedan – or does the company feel a BMW 1 Series sedan will take away from its best-selling 3 Series sedan?

Considering a new BMW 318i starts at R 467 300, it has gone out of reach of many aspirational BMW-sedan owners, whereas the smaller sedan rival from Audi is more affordable – the Audi A3 sedan starts at R 403 500 for the 1.4T S model.  A BMW 118i 5-door currently costs R 399 742, so a BMW118i sedan should be at or just above the R400k mark, right? 

However, if BMW does not build it for its German home market nor for the sedan-liking US market (although they like bigger sedans like a Camry or Accord) it will not make it to SA… unless BMW SA starts sourcing cars Made in China (as so many general products from clothing to appliances already are, anyway) for the SA market?  But remember BMW SA builds the 3 Series sedan for local and export markets, creating many jobs. 

A 1 Series sedan for SA?  Highly unlikely.