BMW Group’s plans for the next decade are a mixed bag. On the one hand it will have electric versions of all of its model range by 2030, but on the other it only expects 50 per cent of its global deliveries to be EVs. It also stated that it won’t stop developing ICE, despite the fact that it quite literally will at some point.
In the run-up to 2030, BMW Group has several milestones it is aiming to hit. This year, it will launch the i4 three months ahead of schedule and upgrade the all-electric iX to BMW Operating System 8 through over-the-air upgrades.
BMW is aiming for ‘breadth over niche’ – covering its major model ranges rather than introducing a few key electric models into its fleet. Nine out of ten market segments that the brand operates in will have an electric option by 2023. This includes the i3, MINI Electric and iX3 which are already on sale, and will be joined by the iX, i4, a fully electric 5 Series, electric X1 and latterly an electric 7 Series.
By 2025 BMW expects EV deliveries to grow by over 50 per cent each year and it is then it will move onto its ‘third phase of transformation’ called Neue Klasse. It is characterised by three key aspects; new IT and software architecture, a new generation of powertrains and batteries and a radical new approach to sustainability across a vehicle’s lifecycle.
Its goal is to reduce carbon emissions per vehicle by 20 per cent compared to 2019 figures by 2030. This applies not just to the in-use phase (during which BMW will reduce CO2 emissions by 40 per cent), but also the procurement of raw materials, supply chain, building and the potential to recycle on disposal. Already, BMW’s latest e-Drive no longer uses rare earths and its latest battery cells use far less cobalt.
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