One of the most trying challenges of 2023 has been buying a new car.
We're not talking just about those oh-so-expensive vehicles you see celebrities and athletes driving around in.
If you've got the patience and the resources, you could get on the waiting list for a Ferrari (RACE) -), which typically runs about 18 months for a brand new car and is reserved for the most exclusive customers and tastes.
DON'T MISS: New-car owners will pay even more for optional features they want
But you don't have to buy a Ferrari to spend a lot of money and time on a new car these days. The auto industry is still recovering from a worldwide chip and parts shortage brought about by the covid pandemic, which for months essentially shut down factories and crucial supply chains and crunched demand.
Even brands that were once considered budget or affordable have become less attainable for the average shopper. As of August, a new car runs you an average of over $48,000 — and that's before all the add-on fees like license plates, title, taxes and others. As of May 2023, only three car models were available in the U.S. market for $20,000 or less.
With the numbers where they are and the scarcity as it is, it seems that almost every new car should be considered a luxury.
Of all the iconic cars in the world, one automaker particularly punches above its weight when it comes to high performance paired with closer-to-affordable luxury.
That brand is BMW (BMWYY) -), which has successfully threaded the needle between aspirational luxury at (somewhat) attainable prices. With a 2024 X3 you get the performance of a sports car with the roominess of an SUV, all for around $50,000.
Of course, these numbers are still eye-popping if you haven't bought a car in a hot minute. And BMW just made an huge investment of its own to hold onto some important heritage, if that's important to you in your next car.
BMW makes a $750 million investment
The Bavarian car maker said on Monday that it would put $750 million (£600 million) to keep its Mini facility in Oxford, England, and give it a major upgrade.
The English car brand, which BMW acquired in 1996, has been manufactured in Oxford since its inception in postwar England in 1959, when gas was expensive and harder to come by thanks to the Suez Crisis.
Smaller cars made sense, and the Mini caught on. The car is regarded as a piece of English cultural heritage, and BMW is committed to its roots from across the Channel.
The $750 million injection will have two primary purposes: first, to keep the Mini in England and, second, to work to electrify the vehicle as the 21st century divests gasoline from its power trains.
The Oxford factory will create two electric vehicles for 2026. One will be the Mini Cooper, a three-door all-electric ode to the classic car. The second will be the new Mini Aceman, which is regarded as a minicrossover.
By 2030, BMW Group expects all Minis made in the Oxford plant to be electric. Also by 2030, BMW will have spent $3 billion on Mini's Swindon, Hams Hall and Oxford plants over the prior 30 years.
PM Sunak: 'UK the best place to build cars of the future'
“BMW Group’s investment is another shining example of how the UK is the best place to build cars of the future. By backing our car manufacturing industry, we are securing thousands of jobs and growing our economy right across the country," U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.
The Mini Electric has been on sale since 2019 in England, but to the rest of the world, it's simply known as the Mini Cooper SE.
"Minis are objectively desirable. BMW’s reborn city car consistently sells strongly, offers rock-solid residual values, and drives with a slightly cartoonish but ultimately endearing vim. It’s the sort of car owners give names to," Top Gear said in a review of the electric vehicle in May 2023.
"It’s cute and well put together enough that the premium prices have never been a barrier to its rampant success. And these days, there just happens to be one that you plug in instead of fill up."
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