BMW executives are convinced that the compact 2-series Active Tourer won’t sell big in the US. Because of that, BMW plans to wait at least 15 months before launching the vehicle in North America.

The BMW Active Tourer wagon shares  the same platform as the Mini Cooper hardtop. The vehicle debuted this month and BMW will start selling the Active Tourer in Europe in September.

In the words of Frank Niederlaender, head of product management for BMW lower-series vehicles, “U.S. buyers don’t favor hatchbacks”, and typically want more space than the Active Tourer can offer. “We have to find the right timing.”

If it sounds familiar for BMW, it is. BMW delayed the X1 crossover for almost 3 years, and now that it’s landed in the US, BMW sold almost double what they had expected.

The BMW Active Tourer is the first BMW vehicle to be front wheel drive, and also the first to have a heads-up feature that is displayed on a transparent display that pops up above the steering wheel.

The Active Tourer will come in a plug-in hybrid version, but the PHEV will follow the standard hybrid model and will likely arrive some time in 2016.