BMW X4 hatches its fastback shape in Shanghai

 The day has finally come for BMW to pull the covers off its X4 Concept at the Shanghai Motor Show. The machine brings few surprises – we've already seen an official image gallery from the German automaker, so its exterior shape was well known – but at least now we get to see it with our own eyes, and with the lenses of our very own cameras.

You can clearly see the fastback roofline in our high-res image gallery above, along with the jacked-up stance that allows BMW to call this machine a Sports Activity Vehicle, which basically means "Crossover" to our friends in Munich. We've seen similar vehicle shapes before, most notably in the form of the BMW X6, but also as far back as the 1980s from the likes of AMC.
We fully expect the transition from concept to production to be pretty seamless, so what we see here is, for the most part, what we'll see on the showroom floor in 2014.

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Unveiled – BMW X4 Concept

BMW has unveiled the baby X6 ahead of its Shanghai Auto Show reveal. The X4 Concept as it is called is BMW’s newest Sports Activity Vehicle or crossover for the layman. It looks properly proportionate than the love-me-hate-me with the twin-kidney grille in the front and those slanted new headlamps, but still is recognisable as a BMW. The daytime running lamps have been integrated into the headlamp cluster. Side profile of the X4 concept reminds one that it is a coupe-ish SUV. The rear bumper is a big unit and houses the twin exhaust mufflers.

Inside, BMW has increased the 3 Series GT’s wheelbase by two inches. This should ideally translate to a better leg room at the rear and with the overall length increased by five inches, the boot space should also be satisfactory. As of now, no information has been released about the interior dimensions or cargo capacity. BMW also hasn’t announced the engine options for the X4 Concept, however we expect the Bavarian manufacturer to offer both petrol and diesel engines. The X4 Concept will go into production in early 2014.

By Team Overdrive
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BMW X4 to lure new buyers to brand

MUNICH -- BMW's new X4 model will bring a new type of customer to the brand, sales chief Ian Robertson said.

The X4 will be a sportier version of the X3 SUV with a lower roofline and coupe styling. It follows BMW's launch of the coupe-styled X6 as a sportier alternative to the X5.

"With the X6 we have attracted a completely different buyer than for the X5. We expect the same thing to happen with the X4 versus the X3," Robertson told Automotive News Europe on the sidelines of the company's annual earnings press conference in Munich on Tuesday.

BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer told reporters on Tuesday that the X4 will launch next year.

BMW will build the X4 at its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where the automaker is boosting annual capacity to 350,000 vehicles from 300,000.

BMW builds all its X models for global markets in South Carolina except the X1 compact SUV, which is built in Leipzig, Germany, and in China. South Carolina will remain the sole production plant for the X3, X5, X6 and the X4.

Capacity squeeze

"We need more capacity in Spartanburg not only for the upcoming X4 but also for the current X range," Robertson said. BMW could have sold another 35,000 units of the X3 last year if the plant had been able to build them, he said.

Last year, global sales of the X3 increased 27 percent to 149,853, marginally ahead of the X1, whose sales grew 17 percent to 147,776, according to company figures. The X5 was BMW's third best-selling SUV with sales up 3.5 percent to 108,544. X6 volume grew by 7 percent to 43,689.

Source : Automotive News