BMW X5 FOR 2004: NEW xDrive ALL-WHEEL DRIVE SYSTEM, VALVETRONIC V-8 ENGINE AND FRESHENED DESIGN HIGHLIGHT EXTENSIVE ENHANCEMENTS FOR BMW'S SPORTS ACTIVITY VEHICLE

Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, October 27, 2003... Four years after its introduction, the BMW X5 has long since firmly established itself as a unique and coveted offering in the luxury sport-utility field. If the very combination of "BMW" and "SUV" seemed unlikely back then, well, it was; for this reason, BMW decided to give the X5 a more apt name -Sports Activity Vehicle - to distinguish it from the ordinary run of SUVs. In the meantime, the SAV concept has become so established and respected that the X5 Series is BMW's third-biggest seller in the U.S. In fact, so successful is the X5 that it is soon to be joined by a second SAV line, the X3.