BMW is taking orders for its new luxury car

The all-new BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe is taking preorders in Korea with the price starting at 46 million won (＄39,000).[BMW KOREA]

BMW announced Monday that it is now accepting preorders for the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe, which made its global debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November.

BMW presented the new compact sedan in Korea to compete with the Mercedes-Benz CLA, which launched last week.

BMW Korea said the 220d Gran Coupe comes with a more affordable price tag and stylish design, plus up-dated convenience and safety features. Local deliveries will start in March.

Looking much like a smaller version of the 8 Series Gran Coupe, BMW’s very first four-door coupe in the compact segment maintains sporty design features, including frameless doors and a low, rounded roofline ending with the slim LED taillights.

From the driver’s perspective, BMW’s first-ever illuminated trim showcases the meticulous layout of the driver-oriented cockpit.

Equipped with a four-cylinder diesel engine and an eight-speed “Steptronic” automatic transmission, the new 220d Gran Coupe is rated at 190 horsepower and 40.79 kilogram-meters (295.03 pound-feet) of torque. Offered in the Advantage and Luxury trims, the four-door coupe comes with a fuel economy of 13.9 kilometers per liter (30.3 miles per gallon) and goes from zero to 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour in 7.5 seconds.

The car measures 4.526 meters (14.85 feet) in length, 1.8 meters in width and 1.42 meters in height, with a wheelbase of 2.67 meters and a trunk space of 430 liters.

The 220d Gran Coupe starts at 46 million won ($39,000) for the Advantage trim and 48.8 million won for the Luxury model.

BMW sold a total of 44,191 vehicles in Korea last year, down 12.5 percent from its sales figures from 2018.

BY KIM YEON-AH [kim.yeonah@joongang.co.kr]