BMW TO UP PRICES IN U.S.

BMW makes a good deal of its healthy profits every year from sales in the U.S., so when the value of the dollar takes a big hit, as it has been in recent months, the German automaker stands to lose a substantial amount of money.

At least that’s the argument BMW is making to go along with the news that, come June, it will be raising its prices in the U.S. by a robust one-percent. The company has taken a 17-percent loss of income for the first quarter of 2008 and is probably looking at the price increase as a way to stop that bleeding, as well as giving a slight boost to its residual values.

The one-percent bump shouldn’t make much difference for potential BMW buyers (for reference it constitutes a premium of just over $300 on a base 2008 328i), though it also won’t help the oft-heard criticisms of the brand being overpriced.