The XM is among the most expensive models BMW has ever launched, playing in the big leagues with budget-wreaking cars such as the i8 Coupe and Roadster duo. Add region-specific massive taxes and you end up with an M car that carries an astronomical starting price. Indeed, the plug-in hybrid SUV has been officially launched in China where it retails for 2,300,000 yuan. That works out to approximately $333,400 or €312,000 at current exchange rates.
Although BMW makes a lot of cars in China, including a fully electric long-wheelbase 3 Series Sedan known as the i3, the XM is not one of them. Consequently, its subjected to steep import tariffs, which were significantly reduced from 25% to 15% in July 2018. The electrified mastodont will be imported from South Carolina as the dedicated M model is exclusively built at the Spartanburg plant.
There’s no word just yet about whether the more potent Label Red will be launched in China. For the time being, we know the 748-horsepower flagship version will be introduced in the United States and Europe later in 2023 with a colossal torque of 1,000 Nm (737 lb-ft). Meanwhile, the standard XM has been rated at 78 kilometers (nearly 50 miles) of electric range in the local WLTC cycle courtesy of a lithium-ion battery pack with a usable capacity of 25.7 kWh.
The XM is not the only new M model launched by BMW in China as the M2 G87 has also landed in the world’s most populous country. Manufactured in Mexico at the San Lous Potosi factory, the sports coupe costs 599,000 yuan or $86,800 / €81,200.
Other models coming to the People’s Republic will be the locally produced long-wheelbase X1 / iX1 (codename U12) later this year and the 5 Series (G68) in early 2024, joining the stretched X5 launched in 2022. China is the only country where BMW sells the i3 Sedan but that should change later this decade with the arrival of a Neue Klasse-based i3 for global markets.
Source: BMW / Photos: BMW China
