So, like many, I've been waiting on my local dealer's waitlist to even get an order put in. In the meantime, we've seen nothing but feature delete. No more B&W sound system as an option. Hands-free tailgate open, deleted. Passenger seat comforts, deleted! I'm seriously considering waiting until the supply chain gets normalized so there doesn't have to be any compromise for a $100K vehicle. Question is, does any one have any idea when these features will return? Does BMW have a timeline to secure the microchip supply needed to not sell a compromised vehicle?
When Will Deleted Features Return
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BMW iX Reservation Tracker: Add Yours Here!
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They haven't returned yet on many X5 models where they were deleted (air suspension, B&W, Night Vision, etc.), after a couple of years. Some are design choices by BMW, some are supply chain, some are microchips. The semiconductor issue is not going to improve, BTW, likely for several years. Mariupol, Ukraine supplied 50 percent of the world's neon - crucial to etching microcircuits - and that capability is completely destroyed. The vast majority of the rest of the supply is in Russia and China. So there's that. Most of the chip manufacturing suppliers have begun depleting their reserves, and it's likely to get worse before it gets better, and many industries besides the car industry compete for that supply - medical devices, appliances, telecommunications. There's no good news in there.
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@Balockay I don't think it's getting better anytime soon or in 2023. The future is still unpredictable, especially geopolitically, whether it's Ukraine or Taiwan.
Not having passenger seat comfort is a first world problem when you look at what problems people are having right now. I would not view the car as a compromised vehicle.
BMW have taken the commercial decision to delete certain features in order to be able to get a reasonable volume of cars out to customers. If they did not delete those features, they would not be able to build many vehicles at all, and your lead time would be crazy long. I think they have done the right thing.
My UK spec 40 will be missing a few features, but I feel extremely fortunate that I can get a factory order in 2 months when the vast majority of EVs in the UK from various manufacturers (whether budget or high end) are looking at lead times between 6 months and 2 years, with most being 12 months and up.
Given what's happening in the world, I'm also taking the attitude that I'm lucky to get a 3 year lease for the iX at a certain rate. Yes, it's expensive for what it is, but pricing of cars and demand, especially for EVs is only going to go up. I would not recommend waiting for supply chains to "normalise" as I'm not sure they will ever get back to "completely normal" and you never know what further features they will have to delete in order to keep cars rolling off the production lines.
But Mercedes apparently everything is fine. As an option, you can order anything. And night vision and heating/cooling of cup holders and everything in the world.
P.S. I created the gls
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You can order it, but getting it may be another matter. This from their website:
Availability Notice
Due to a worldwide shortage, semiconductor chips that are typically present in our vehicles are limited in supply. This has changed the availability of certain features. Vehicle pricing will vary and depends on the availability of certain features. Please verify with your dealer whether any feature is available in a particular vehicle. To learn more, please see your dealer.
And even if they can build your car, you may wait longer than a year. That would actually be fine with me, but MB's corporate business model (build as many cars as possible with as many features as possible) differs from BMW's (build more cars); sort of kidding, but not. It is what it is....
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Mercedes is a bit misleading in that you can certainly order stuff, they just remove it when it is time to build. I ordered a 2023 AMG GLE 53 and when it was time to build, they removed augmented reality nav, upgraded LED lights, massage seats, heated/cooled cupholders and dashcam because of parts shortage. I canceled the order right after because I did not want so much removed. Might as well buy in the future when availability is better and I dont have to compromise on half my option list
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