Four out of five BMW 1-series drivers think their car is front-wheel drive, according to the company's CEO Norbert Reithofer.
Reithofer revealed the statistic in a conference call to journalists following the announcement of BMW's financial results. He admitted the company found the 1-series survey results to be “quite a surprise.”
Reithofer was justifying BMW's decision to start producing BMW-branded front-wheel-drive cars on the next-generation Mini's platform, which is due in 2014. The platform, covering front- and four-wheel-drive models, will be used for both the third-generation Mini and for a range of BMW models between 12.5ft and 14ft long.
According to industry reports, there could eventually be up to 20 individual BMW and Mini-badged models based on the new BMW-engineered platform. The dual length of the platform would enable it to cover models sized from a typical supermini to a VW Golf-sized car.
Source: Autocar