BMW announces pricing for its premier hybrid car and more diesels for the US

On November 9 German automaker BMW launched the sale of their first hybrid model worldwide while concurrently announcing they are expanding the range of diesel models they will sell in the US.

BMW unveiled its first two hybrid models ever at the Frankfurt Auto Show last October to widespread acclaim.

The first model the world receives is the ActiveHybrid X6, whose 480 horsepower makes it perhaps the most powerful hybrid car on the market. The starting price is $89,775 in the US, £90,979 in the UK and €102,900 in Germany. Prices vary across the EU according to national taxes and import fees.

The ActiveHybrid 7 will go on sale in 2010 and is expected to carry a higher price tag than the ActiveHybrid X6.

Proving they are not resting on their ActiveHybrid laurels, BMW also announced that they will unveil a third hybrid model in the next year, giving no additional details.

But the company isn't throwing all its weight behind hybrids, as BMW stated they will bring multiple four-cylinder diesel models to the US in the next few years, according to the US-based online magazine Edmunds Inside Line.

Four-cylinders are normally associated with slow-and-steady gas-sippers like the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic, but BMW will be bringing over their turbo 4-cylinder engines, providing both economy as well as the exceptional performance associated with the luxury automaker.

The specific models that will be brought to the US were not announced, but the X3 and X5 CUVs, as well as their flagship 3 Series line, are likely to make the trip, according to US-based website Autoblog.

The move may have been prompted by the company's success last summer in the US, when BMW submitted their 335d and X5 diesel models for the $4,500 "cash for clunkers" government incentive program and both models promptly sold out.