BMW says it’s committing to an electric motoring future, but maybe not quite so quickly as some rivals. While the likes of Jaguar and Ford have already said they’re going all-electric by the middle of the decade, BMW reckons that by 2025, only half of the cars it sells will be entirely battery-powered.
BMW entering the circular economy
That said, Munich is committing to both an electric and a recycling future. Speaking to the company’s annual conference, Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management said: “The BMW Group has ambitious plans for 2021. We have started the new year with strong momentum and are aiming to return to pre-crisis levels as swiftly as possible - and go even further. We have a clear roadmap for making the transformation of our industry a real competitive advantage for BMW in the coming years: uncompromisingly electric, digital and circular.” Zipse said that while 2020 was, of course, a very difficult year for the BMW, it did end the year with “a successful spurt.” For 2021, BMW is committing to an increase in profits, and a profit margin of between six and eight per cent - which would make it one of the best in the car industry. “2021 is all about growth for us. At the same time, we are prepared to respond flexibly,” said Nicolas Peter, BMW’s head of finance. “We always think and act long-term; by making the right decisions today we are setting the stage to achieve our ambitious strategic goals for 2025, 2030 and beyond.”
Over the air software
By the end of 2021, BMW says that it will have the largest fleet of cars on the road, in the world, that can have their software updated over the air. There will also be the rollout of the new iDrive 8 infotainment system, based heavily around voice control, which will make its debut in the new (and controversially-styled) iX electric SUV. BMW says that it will continue with plans for “functions on demand” whereby owners can order new equipment for their car after they’ve bought it. This involves cars pre-fitted with hardware for such items as active cruise control and adaptive lights, but not the software, which can be ordered, and paid for by subscription, once the car has been sold. It’s a controversial plan (which is already being copied by some other carmakers) and one which could have significant impacts on the second-hand car market in years to come. As far as electric power is concerned, BMW will have a dozen full-electric models on sale by 2023. This year, the already-launched iX3, MINI E, and the evergreen i3 will be joined by the iX and the new i4 four-door coupe. “The launch of the BMW iX and the BMW i4 will signalise the start of our technology offensive in 2021: these two all-electric vehicles will set the benchmark for BEVs going forward,” said Zipse. Following on from those will be fully-electric versions of the 5 Series and the X1, as well as an electric 7 Series and a battery-powered version of the next-generation MINI Countryman. BMW wants to have at least one fully electric model on the road in around 90 percent of its current market segments by 2023. “We are consciously adopting a broad approach with our all-electric offering rather than staying niche,” Zipse stated. Hanging on to some internal combustion models will, said Zipse, bring the “optimal balance of attractive products and efficient capacity utilisation at BMW plants, even if demand in certain markets shifts completely towards fully electric vehicles.” By 2025, BMW plans to have built and sold some two-million fully electric cars to customers. As part of that plan, engine production in the headquarters factory in Munich will cease, and will be transferred to factories in Austria and the UK. BMW is going to invest some €400 million in refitting the Munich plant for EV construction, and the “e-Drive production competence centre” up the road in Dingolfing will expand with more staff to be recruited. On top of that, some 75,000 staff members will be offered training and up-skilling programmes.
The ‘Neue Klasse’
After 2025, BMW’s model range will shift to orbit around a new core model, currently called the Neue Klasse. That name is a throwback to the 1960s, when an almost bankrupt BMW launched the first ‘Neue Klasse’ - the compact BMW 1500 saloon, a model which was in itself a huge success, and which would eventually evolve into the first 3 Series. The new Neue Klasse (Neue Neue Klasse? Neue2 Klasse? Too Neue, Too Klasse? Neue Klasse: Tokyo Drift. Neue Klasse: Neue Klasse Harder? I can do these all night [That’s enough. Ed.]) will, says BMW, “be characterised by three key aspects: a completely redefined IT and software architecture, a new generation of high-performance electric drivetrains and batteries and a radically new approach to sustainability across the entire vehicle life cycle.” “The BMW Group is never satisfied with what it has achieved so far - that's what sets it apart from the rest of the field. This spirit will characterise the Neue Klasse: high tech on four wheels for customers intent on experiencing in just five years' time how mobility will feel in 2030,” said Zipse. BMW claims that this new family of cars will “provide a completely novel user experience never before seen in series production vehicles” partially because their software - and software seems to be the key, here - will be able to adapt to the demands and rigours of individual global markets, almost on the fly. BMW also says that: “the digital first approach systematically integrated in the Neue Klasse will enable an increasing proportion of revenues to be generated over the vehicle's life cycle via individually configurable and bookable features going forward.” In other words, if you want fancy options, you’ll be paying for them on a monthly subscription, and probably won’t be able to sell them on to the next owner. As far as looks, the styling of this second Neue Klasse will be heavily aero-influenced, as well as making full use of the chassis inherent interior space and flat-floor. BMW reckons that one basic electric platform will be enough to stretch from basic, 1 Series and 3 Series models all the way to high-end M-Sport versions. It won’t just be about batteries either - BMW says it’s keeping its hydrogen fuel cell power options open too. The Neue Klasse will actually be the Alte Klasse in some ways - Zipse said that the new cars will dramatically ramp up the amount of recycled material used in their construction. “In 2017, for the first time, mankind extracted more than 100 billion tonnes of raw materials within a single year - a trend that we also need to counteract in the automotive industry,” said Zipse. “Those wishing to use the earth’s scarce resources to drive their business model will need good reasons to do so in the future.” In the broader BMW Group, the number of electric vehicles sold is expected to increase by 20 per cent, year on year, between 2025 and 2030. In that process, MINI will become an all-electric brand “by the early 2030s’ and will launch its last model with a combustion engine in 2025. BMW also says that it will cut its own manufacturing emissions, by one third by 2030, compared to 2019 levels. The electricity used to produce the BMW iX in Dingolfing and the BMW i4 in Munich, for example, is generated via hydroelectric plants situated directly in Bavaria. By 2030, the Group aims to reduce the carbon emissions generated by its vehicles in the use phase by 40 per cent per kilometre driven.