Future BMW 1 Series May Lose US Roots

Available in the US markets, the BMW 1 Series may soon leave our land.

Rather than a fresh version of the 1 Series you’re thinking of (the coupe and convertible nowadays on sale), the next-gen 1 Series will be a front-wheel-drive compact that was showed in the BMW Concept Active Tourer.

It’s not the lack of deliveries for the current 1 Series that is keeping the German brand from approving that it’ll be US bound; but rather that it’s constructed in Europe and shipping it to America makes it costly, along with the threat for MINI sales.

The decision of delivery the next-gen 1 Series from Europe will mostly depend on how profitable Mercedes-Benz and Audi are with their compact luxury vehicles such as the CLA and A3.

“Where we have the 1 Series close to the 3 Series in conditions of the cost level, what Mercedes and Audi are doing is providing more focus in the below-$30,000 price point,” announced Paul Ferrailo, BMW’s president of product planning and strategy for North America. “We’ll see that and in the future—well, the battlefield has now transferred to this $30,000 price level. We’re working hard to receive the profit of that market.”

Substituting the current 1 Series in the US will be the fresh 2 Series vehicle, which will essentially be a next-gen variant of the current model.