Not long ago, BMW reached a momentous milestone with its M Division, 54 years after it was established as the company’s performance-focused branch. On October 2, a very special G80-gen M3 Competition came off the assembly line at BMW’s Munich plant, it being the millionth M vehicle to do so.
Needless to say, this was a great cause for celebration, also coinciding with the M3’s 40th anniversary to make things more exciting. BMW had two ways of honoring this occasion, one of which was the Neue Klasse M3 teaser we’ve already brought to your attention a few days ago. That was essentially the carmaker’s way of looking to the future, but not without acknowledging the present, as well.
A Festive Welcoming And Special Paintwork For Number One Million
Peter Weber and Frank van Meel with BMW M3 CompetitionBMW
The G80 M3 received a one-off finish called Fire Orange III through the BMW Individual program, immediately suggesting that it’s more than just your regular Bimmer. A befitting ceremony was organized at the Munich plant, which will deal solely with EV production starting next year. So, in a way, this was also a sort of last hurrah for the internal combustion engine at the facility.
As part of the festivities, plant director Peter Weber handed the millionth M3’s keys to M boss Franciscus van Meel, a symbolic way of honoring the M Division’s achievement. “The first BMW M3 was built at the Munich plant more than 40 years ago,” said Weber in an interview. “The team’s pride in and emotional attachment to this iconic model are correspondingly great.”
“Above all, this anniversary celebrates the people behind the vehicles: the expertise, commitment, and passion of our employees. They have made this milestone possible and are the reason why BMW M has been setting global standards for decades.” And looking back at the one million M cars made so far, the production numbers tell an interesting story.
What Conclusions Can We Draw From Past Statistics?
2023 BMW M4 CSLBMW
More than half of all M vehicles ever built were either M3s or M4s, while the most successful single model was the F87 M2 produced between 2016–2021. North America is where BMW’s M models are the most popular by a huge margin, surpassing the entire left-hand-drive rest of the world combined.
About a quarter of all vehicles sold were M2s and M5s, accounting for 11.7% and 13.5% of total sales, respectively. And although the F87 M2 is the all-time best-seller with a little over 62,000 units produced, the current G80 M3 is well on its way to surpass it any moment now.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
The millionth M car is one heck of a note for the ICE age to end on at BMW’s Munich factory, before the facility’s transition to EV-only production is completed in 2027. At the same time, it sets the stage for the all-new electric M3 to come into the picture in the not-too-distant future.
If the next one million vehicles from the M Division will be as good as the first, then we’re very excited to find out what the future holds. We likely won’t have to wait too long to see its first take on electrification with the next-gen M3 scheduled to debut sometime next year. And, concurrently, it’s nice to know it won’t be abandoning internal combustion anytime soon, as a gas-powered M3 is slated to join its electric sibling in 2028.
