The BMW XM has only been on the market for more than a year, but the controversial super SUV is about to have some problems. When the XM first came out, Munich made a big deal about it, pointing out that it was the only car after the famous BMW M1 that was made entirely by the brand’s performance section. Automotive News reports that BMW has yet to make a replacement for the XM once its production run ends in 2028. This means that not even a tricolored M emblem could have saved the V8 plug-in hybrid. The new BMW XM will not have a plug-in hybrid engine but instead will have an all-electric drivetrain. The high-performance SUV comes in the top XM Label Red paint. Its 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 engine makes 738 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque, with help from an electric motor built into its eight-speed automatic gearbox. With the same S68 V8 and PHEV engine, the base model XM makes 644 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque. With a battery pack that holds 25.7 kWh, the plug-in hybrid can go about 30 miles on electricity alone. Auto News reported that BMW was able to call the PHEV its “halo model for an electrified range” because of this feature. BMW wants electric vehicles to make up half of all sales by 2030, so the next version of the XM would be all-electric and not have a V8 engine. In late 2028, BMW’s plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, was going to start making an XM EV with the code name G79. But supply chain experts told Auto News that those plans have been scrapped; instead of making a new XM EV, they are going to stop making the XM altogether. How silly to throw away the Halo model. Invoice Pricing has asked BMW to respond to the report. We will make changes to this piece as we learn more. The XM experiment needs to look better; the model will no longer work, even though it was sent to sellers last year. But it’s hard to think that a lot of people will be sad. It costs $185,000 for the faster XM Label, which is not the same thing as the limited-edition Label Red. It costs $159,000 for the base model XM. The XM may be too expensive because its market situation isn’t clear. Is it a high-end PHEV, a fast SUV, or both? Most likely neither. Is it just too ugly? As much as the XM is a star from the M Division, it’s hard to ignore how bad it looks. The BMW XM can go from 0 to 60 mph in as little as 3.7 seconds, but it will never be faster than that.
