Press Kit MY 2000: BMW X5: THE WORLD'S FIRST SPORTS ACTIVITY VEHICLE, AND A BRAND-NEW KIND OF BMW

Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, November 1, 1999... By now, just about everyone
knows what a boom light trucks have been enjoying. Indeed, as the end of 1999
approached, sales in this category - including pickups, minivans and
sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) - were pulling alongside those of cars. During
1990, more than one of every six new vehicles sold was an SUV, and (to note the
trend most relevant to BMW) luxury SUVs advanced from 1.07% of the total
vehicle market in 1998 to 1.33% in the first three quarters of 1999. This is a
one-quarter increase in market share in just a year.

On the basis of its own strengths in automobile design, engineering and
marketing, BMW has enjoyed dramatic success, in the United States and
worldwide. By the end of the third quarter of 1999, BMW's U.S. sales were
running almost 19% ahead of 1998, and were on track to exceed 155,000 for all
of 1999.

The 5 Series sport wagon has proven to be very popular with owners but many
people want the high seating position and go-anywhere feeling they get from an
SUV. This is why, well in advance of the current boom, BMW was already
developing its own interpretation of such a vehicle. Mind you, not an SUV as
such. Instead, BMW wanted to address this market need while remaining true to
its own consistent tradition and philosophy - a tradition best summed up in the
BMW slogans Freude am Fahren (Joy in Driving) and The Ultimate Driving Machine.
And it was clear that although SUV buyers like sitting up high, value that
perception of safety and security, and want at least some poor-road capability,
this was not enough for BMW. To be slightly blunt, BMW had no intention of
building a conventional truck and putting its logo on it.

Indeed, if BMW was going to build a vehicle with SUV characteristics, that
vehicle would have to offer the SUV's appealing aspects plus the exhilaration
and driving pleasure only a BMW can provide. And if a harmony of these
seemingly opposing attributes was going to be created, then BMW would have to
deploy its formidable research-and-development resources to develop a truly new
type of vehicle. In the X5, BMW has done exactly that. It's not a conventional
sport-utility, but rather a Sports Activity Vehicle, or SAV.

The X5 is like nothing else in the world: an utterly new category of motor
vehicle, a light duty truck with the SUV silhouette but most emphatically not
the typical SUV personality. At its base price of $49,970 including destination
charge, the X5 4.4i is an all-new alternative for buyers seeking quality,
luxury and responsiveness in a rugged and versatile all-wheel-drive vehicle.

THE WORLD IS READY FOR BMW'S SPORTS ACTIVITY VEHICLE

To prepare the way for this new vehicle concept, BMW first had to understand
what it is that draws people to SUVs. In conducting its own extensive market
research, BMW found both emotional and rational factors:

Emotional
- Escape/freedom
- Off-road/wilderness
- Youthful/sexy/cool
- Individual
- Status
- Control/power
- Fun/active

Rational
- Towing capability
- All-weather/all-road ability
- Robustness
- Cargo space
- Outward vision for driver

BMW also investigated how people actually use SUVs, and found some of the
emotional factors to be fantasy. The "escape/freedom" and "off-road/wilderness"
factors relate to SUVs' perceived ability to go anywhere; yet few SUV owners
ever actually drive off-road. This is especially true of the Luxury SUV
category, just 4% of which are ever driven off-road.

Control/power and Fun/active may also be illusory in many SUVs, as these
vehicles are typically less responsive to driver control on paved roads than
cars, relatively sluggish and often anything but agile. "Fun," of course, is a
subjective perception, but it is fair to say that in the traditional BMW sense,
Joy in Driving is notably missing from SUVs. Indeed, after purchasing an SUV,
many an owner has reluctantly concluded that its performance, handling and
riding comfort were far less than satisfying.

On the other hand, vehicles with SUV characteristics have legitimate
advantages. The goal, therefore, became to create a vehicle meeting BMW
standards of performance, handling and driving pleasure while offering the SUV
format's best qualities. A multi-year development program led to the X5, which
BMW now proudly presents as an entirely new vehicle with exactly these
capabilities.

Please download the attached file for more detailed information about the
following:

* THE X5 CHASSIS CONCEPT
* ENGINE WITH STEPTRONIC 5-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
* EXTERIOR DESIGN, ERGONOMICS AND LUXURY
* VERSATILE CARGO AREA
* SAFETY & SECURITY
* PASSIVE SAFETY FEATURES OF THE X5
* OPTIONS AND ACCESSORIES
* PRODUCED IN AMERICA FOR THE WORLD'S ROADS
* PERFORMANCE WITH A CONSCIENCE
* BMW IN AMERICA

Other files available to download will provide information about:

* X5 Highlights
* X5 Standard and Optional Features
* X5 Specifications
* X5 Pricing