Good news for people Down Under as BMW has officially introduced the 3 Series LCI in Australia where it’ll go on sale next month. However, there’s some bad news to share as pricing has increased across the board, and in some cases, you’ll be paying considerably more than before. When the base 320i was launched locally in mid-2019, it cost $64,900 (Australian dollars) but it increased over time. The 2023MY has an asking price of $78,900 or an extra $5,400 over the 2022MY.
The more potent 330i has suffered the biggest price hike of them all, with BMW charging $10,100 more than before. Consequently, you’ll be paying $93,400 for the sedan and $97,400 for the more practical Touring compared to the previous model year. Should you want a plug-in hybrid powertrain, the 330e retails for $97,400, an increase of $7,100.
If there is a silver lining in all of this, it’s the 2023 M340i xDrive since it’s now $8,700 more affordable than before. That being said, at $104,900, it’s not exactly a bargain either. We should also point out that the M Performance model, despite the price cut, is still a lot more expensive than it originally was taking into account that the M340i xDrive was offered for $99,990 back in 2019.
At the moment of writing, there’s no word about 2023 M3 pricing, but we do know the new M3 Touring is coming to the local market. As a matter of fact, BMW Australia along with the regional divisions in the United Kingdom and Japan convinced the higher-ups from Munich to green light a right-hand-drive version. These three branches demonstrated there would be enough customer interest to warrant the development costs.
BMW will diversify the 3 Series LCI lineup furthermore at some point next year when it will introduce an M3 CS. However, it’s too early to say whether the limited-run special edition is earmarked for AU.
Source: BMW Australia
