1) Over the past decade, BMW has snuffed the enthusiast/semi-enthusiast crowd to cater to mainstream luxury buyers.
2) Anecdotally, I've noticed that the Tesla buyers of today were the BMW/Audi buyers of yesterday.
Who's still interested in new BMWs?
This. Exactly this.
I've overheard potential buyers (not just at BMW, but all car dealerships) asking questions like:
- Can I get this car in an all-electric version? > No
- Can I get this car with AWD (dual motor) > No
- Can I get this car with autopilot > No
- Will this car receive updates over the air? > No
- Does the base model come with 300+ HP? > No
- Can I control this car using an app? > No
- Can I fuel/charge for free? > No
Then why pay 80k for a 5-series, if you can also get a tesla for that price?
Interesting you say that, as I feel Apple is committing the exact same mistake lately.
Having ridden in every model Tesla and test-driven an i-PACE, Tesla should be terrified. The i-PACE doesn't have the range or acceleration of a Tesla, but everything else about the car--including, most importantly, ride comfort (this is LA, after all...0 to 60 speed is irrelevant in rush hour traffic)--is miles ahead of what Tesla can muster.