BMW CKD vs CBU prices

[cbong69]

Let's take 320i for a start. 320i Coupe CBU is 290k. From US and UK website, Coupe is about 10% more expensive than Sedan, this will put a 320i Sedan CBU at 260k(?). A 320i Sedan CKD with the same spec is around 237k w/o iDrive. This means the price difference between a CKD and a CBU is less than 10%! Why do we have the CKD if the price difference is so little? I would expect a difference of at least 20+% to be justifiable for CKD. Same goes with 325i if you do the same mathematics. Both CKD and CBU get the same BSRI and warranty and service. What's the rationale behind this little difference? Does BMW Malaysia get a discount for Coupe CBU or they simple mark up the CKD since we do not have other choice ( but to go to grey market ) ? Please share your thoughts. Thanks

 

[zib]

Let's take 320i for a start. 320i Coupe CBU is 290k. From US and UK website, Coupe is about 10% more expensive than Sedan, this will put a 320i Sedan CBU at 260k(?). A 320i Sedan CKD with the same spec is around 237k w/o iDrive. This means the price difference between a CKD and a CBU is less than 10%! Why do we have the CKD if the price difference is so little? I would expect a difference of at least 20+% to be justifiable for CKD. Same goes with 325i if you do the same mathematics. Both CKD and CBU get the same BSRI and warranty and service. What's the rationale behind this little difference? Does BMW Malaysia get a discount for Coupe CBU or they simple mark up the CKD since we do not have other choice ( but to go to grey market ) ? Please share your thoughts. Thanks

If I can be blunt and may I excuse myself, it is pure GREED! It is all the big fat profit that the local BMW dealers care about and not about bringing an affordable UDM to Msians.

 

[Shotgun]

In most markets the diesel version is more expensive than the petrol one. The opposite is true in Malaysia. As for the greed portion, I tend to agree with zib. No car company in the world goes into business to lose money. They are therefore mostly profitable. The only one that is not profitable is our own local one. That one may I say is a true welfare organisation giving us cheap cars at lower than cost price so that they may lose money and we get to buy cheap cars. In free market economics, the rule of supply and demand is king. BMW Malaysia is the same. There is a demand at that price, therefore they supply it us. If nobody buy their cars at that price, they might just close shop.

 

[ceteh]

In terms of tax, the difference between a CKD and CBU (non-ASEAN) is 20% of import duty (from 30% down to 10%). The excise duty stay at 90% and sales tax stay at 10% for both CKD and CBU.

so if all the savings are transferred to consumer, there should be 20% lower in price BUT note this is 20% lower on the reported or agreed or adjusted gross price (excluding freight and other logistic cost) NOT the RRP.