Yahoo Autos BMW reportedly killing 8 Series for new 6, and canceling XM successor
We've got a three-way standoff here, the truth maybe lying somewhere in the middle of the triangulation. We'll start with an Automotive News report that outlines some remarkable changes coming to the BMW lineup. AN credits Sam Fiorani at AutoForecast Solutions for intel that BMW will cease production of the 8 Series around the middle of 2026 without a successor in place. If that happens, it would mean the reborn 8 got eight years on the market, from 2018 to 2026, one year down on the original 8 Series from the 1990s. And stop us if you've heard this one before: Citing "a supply-chain industry source," AN reports that BMW will begin production of a new 6 Series around the middle of 2026. An anonymous BMW dealer told the outlet, in AN's words, the new 6 would "appeal to upwardly mobile consumers who appreciate performance and luxury," but it's not clear if the dealer was confirming the 6 rebirth or commenting on what a potential new 6 would do in the lineup.
This possible two-step, 8 into 6, would copy what happened about 25 years ago. BMW retired the first 8 Series in 1999, then launched the second coming of the 6 Series in 2003. The third-generation 6 Series coupe and convertible left our market in 2018, followed out the door by the Gran Coupe and Gran Turismo in 2019.
A putative future 6er would sit on the automaker's next-generation Cluster Architecture due on the market in 2025. Designed to accommodate pure ICE, hybrid, and pure electric powertrains, we're told the new 6 would come as a coupe and convertible and offer at least one gas-powered option.
