Back in October 2018, high-ranking BMW official suggested the automaker would not develop a 3 Series Gran Turismo variant for the current G20-generation line-up. And now the Munich-based firm has confirmed the end of the line for the GT model.
In a statement outlining the BMW Group’s “strategic course under challenging conditions”, the German automaker promised to further “reduce product portfolio complexity” to counteract “negative factors” such as “political uncertainty, a cooling global economy, rising production costs to meet regulatory requirements, exchange rate effects and rising raw materials prices”.
“For example, despite a good level of demand, no successor model will be developed for the current generation of the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo,” the statement said. Nicolas Peter, member of the board of management for finance, added he expected “strong headwinds to continue to effect the entire sector in 2019”.
The confirmation of the demise of the 3 Series GT comes after the reveal of the G20-generation 3 Series sedan (complete with an array of M Performance parts) at the 2018 Paris Motor Show, and followed a rumour from earlier in the year.
Interestingly, the 3 Series GT range has already been removed from BMW South Africa’s local configurator, although the January 2019 price list had the five-strong line-up priced from R604 104 for the 320i GT to R848 634 for the flagship 340i.
