BMW M drops the Competition badge: lineup now M, CS, CSL

The Competition badge has quietly disappeared from the BMW M lineup. For years it signaled a more focused take on the brand’s performance cars, separate from the regular M models. That split no longer makes sense. At the 2025 Tokyo Motor Show, BMW M CEO Frank van Meel told journalists the Competition designation is effectively being retired.

According to him, about 80 percent of buyers consistently opted for Competition, a clear sign of how popular that specification had become. With four out of five customers already leaning that way, dropping the label feels like a logical cleanup rather than a loss.

Hence the core features of the former Competition package now move into the standard equipment of future M cars. Each new model will launch with the maximum-output engine and the complete set of performance hardware that previously lived under the Competition banner. In effect, the baseline gets stronger and the brochure gets simpler.

From here on, the range narrows to three clear choices: the traditional entry-level M, the high-performance M CS as the middle option, and the exclusive limited-run M CSL. The change also aligns with the upcoming arrival of BMW’s latest electric models, as the company seeks cleaner positioning and easier-to-understand product lines for customers.