Quote:
Originally Posted by 1sikbmr
the SMG in the e60 M5 was also a no option. I guess with the M3 it "cost" more so they charge you.
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likely two reasons for extra cost of DCT in our E9X M3s:
1. BMW sales projections thinks manuals would consist of a "significant" portion of sales for our M3s.
2. Initial DCT development just finished, and the E9X M3 was the first car outfitted with this. BMW had to recoup development cost, so those who really wanted a DCT, would have to pay up for it.
I think these are the same two reasons E60 M5 and the new F10 M5 offer manuals as a no-cost option...simply more SMG/DCT sales, and/or the SMG/DCT development costs has been recouped, or offset in the following generation models. The DCT at this point is in a maintenace/update development lifecycle, so this costs of this activity is significantly lower than it was in 2007-2013.
If you're cynical, from production cost perspective, it's easier to offer a cookie-cutter option than to continue minor developments and updates on a 6MT, and it's BMW's bean counters attempting to squeeze out the manual in future cars.
just my thoughts, I think it's 100% a business development cost vs lost sales trade-off decision. Likely BMW wouldn't loose any more sales from a DCT-only range, and that figure might even be compounded if you do offer a low volume manual and there's a cost of retooling the factory.