BMW's Fleet Special

by Derek Kreindler

June 24th, 2014 10:36 AM

A vast number of new cars sold in the United Kingdom end up going to fleet buyers, with strict guidelines dictating what can and cannot be purchased for a company fleet. One of the main stipulations is “no coupes”. But BMW seems to have found a way around that.

The 3-Series is already a popular “executive car”, especially as a company car for upper management. BMW UK claims that 60 percent of 3-Series buyers are from corporate fleets. But the new 4-Series coupe will obviously fail to pass muster. But with the 4-door 4-Series Gran Coupe (aka fastback), BMW is betting big that it will emulate the 3-Series’ success.

Just-Auto reports that the Gran Coupe will get an exclusive 418d trim level targeted at fleets. The 418d will make 143 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque, but also emit 121 grams of CO2 per km (just shy of the magic 100 gram mark), enabling better fuel consumption and more favorable road taxes.

#BMW #Bmw4-series #Bmw4-seriesGranCoupe #Bmw418d #Fleet #UK #UnitedKingdom

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8 of 56 comments

LuciferV8 on Jun 24, 2014

It's like Starbucks' sizing policy, in which we get a newspeak menu of three synonyms for large. I'm just waiting for BMW to go full retard and make the 7 series into some sort of 4-door "coupe".

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Madanthony on Jun 24, 2014

So does the UK have tax laws or something that make company cars more of a thing in the US? I'm sure there are plenty of executive company cars in the US, but I can't imagine it's enough to make it worth a company here making a model just targeted at that market.

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- Pch101 on Jun 24, 2014
  
  The company car is a common tax dodge that is typical in Europe but not in the US. It's cheaper to lease the company car than it is to earn income, pay taxes on it, and then use the after-tax income to buy one.
  
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- Smartascii on Jun 24, 2014
  
  In several European countries, the tax on a new car purchased by an individual is astronomical. In Denmark, for example, it's 180%. That is not a typo. The result of this is that a base 4-door Golf (with an 85 HP 1.2 liter) costs, at today's exchange rate, $41,061. The identical car sold to a business costs $24,380. This doesn't take into account that the average income tax rate on individuals, after deductions and other typical tax contortions, is 35%, and then almost everything you buy that's not food has a 25% sales tax on it. Company expenses, are tax deductible, same as here, so you can see why the offer of a company car is a pretty valuable thing.
  
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- Pch101 on Jun 24, 2014
  
  @smartascii Denmark is an extreme example, not the norm. The heart of the matter is that employees in Europe get a tax shelter from leasing the car through their employers that Americans typically can't get. In the US, we typically pay for car leases from our own personal after-tax income, without the benefit of a shelter.
  
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- Spreadsheet monkey on Jun 25, 2014
  
  "So does the UK have tax laws or something that make company cars more of a thing in the US?" It's by far the biggest "thing" impacting our new car market. The tax difference between running a 418d or a 435i as a company car would be hundreds, if not thousands of pounds per year. CO2 emission based taxation laws have massively driven the popularity of diesel cars in the UK in the last 5-10 years. That and $10 petrol (gas), of course. There are a lot of reluctant diesel drivers here who would prefer a petrol engine given the choice, but grudgingly put up with a diesel for the tax saving.
  
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Romanjetfighter on Jun 24, 2014

That's a very long hood. I love the proportions.

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TonyJZX on Jun 25, 2014

the power is a bit weak but the torque is fine (320Nm+) and the weight is ok (3,300lb) 9.2 sec 0-60 isnt great but i bet rolling acceleration is fine

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