Despite its present-day reputation for building some of the most popular and most desired luxury performance cars on the market, German marque BMW (BMWYY) has had a wide variety of vehicles that bore its famous blue-and-white checkered badge next to its signature 'kidney' grilles.
The list includes some 'weird' models with extraordinary feats and features, like the Isetta bubble car from the 1950's, or the interesting Z1 roadster from the 90's — which featured doors that disappear into the bottom of the car.
But despite its popularity in key markets like the United States, there is one type of vehicle that the Bavarian motor works wouldn't be on board with, despite its most competitive rivals previously offering them in their lineup.
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In a recent interview with BMW Blog, senior vice president of BMW Brand and Product Management Bernd Körber said that pickup trucks don't suit BMW's brand ethos and wouldn't find their place within the brand's lineup.
“I think a pickup truck is beyond the brand,” he said. “In principle, I would say for a brand like BMW to differentiate, to make cars that are dream cars that really bring out the essence of BMW, we need niche models.”
BMW
Despite Körber's statement, the brand has toyed around with the idea of a BMW-badged pickup truck enough for them to come into the automotive flesh. In the past, its designers have added makeshift truck beds to vehicles like its M3 sports sedan and the X7 SUV for special one-offs meant to explore the weird and wacky minds that occupy its design studios.
Körber's statements, however might hold weight when considering an experiment by its main rival: Mercedes-Benz (DDAIF) . In late 2017, the Stuttgart stable released the X-Class, a crew cab pickup truck that shared its underpinnings with a Nissan. According to a 2020 MotorTrend article, Mercedes attempted to make the pickup look more premium, but weren't able to do so in the end.
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However, it isn't all bad news for BMW buyers looking for something "tougher" than the run-of-the-mill X5 SUV sitting on dealership lots. Körber says that the brand recognizes the worldwide growing popularity of off-roaders like the Toyota Land Cruiser and the Land Rover Defender.
“Rugged is an interesting trend because it has moved from the US, South Africa, and Australia phenomenon into a global phenomenon,” he said.
The BMW exec did not give any hints toward any upcoming models, but mentioned that the brand is considering "a rugged vehicle for outdoorsy people."
Currently, BMW offers seven different sport-utility crossovers as part of its X line of SUVs.
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