What's the news?
BMW has had six record-breaking sales years in succession and so, buoyed on by its market strength, it has outlined its future direction under the banner 'Strategy Number One > Next'. A lot of the broader themes talk about BMW's desire to further its autonomous driving offerings through Project i 2.0, improved efficiency internal combustion engines with Efficient Dynamics Next, and an ongoing commitment to hydrogen vehicles. However, among all the grand, sweeping policies, some exciting new models have either been confirmed or hinted at.
First of all, another couple of i models have been outlined. One is explicitly named, that being the BMW i8 Roadster, while the manufacturer is also saying by the end of 2016, an i3 with increased battery capacity and therefore range will be introduced. Yet it's the mention of the company 'ushering in the next decade in the form of a revolutionary new BMW i model that will raise premium individual mobility to previously unknown levels' that has us intrigued - perhaps Munich is readying something to take on the phenomenal Tesla Model S?
Of course, the i brand's success - 50,000 models have been sold globally since 2013 - has been filtering back into the 'regular' line-up, with plug-in hybrids proliferating. BMW is now going to call these i-inspired PHEVs the iPerformance models and the next one on the horizon is a plug-in MINI, presumably using the drivetrain from the 225xe.
Elsewhere, Harald Krüger, the chairman of the board for BMW, said: "We will be broadening our model range with the BMW X7. We are also taking an in-depth look at the additional potential of this highly attractive segment." So don't rule out the X2, then.
Real performance fans will like the fact that BMW says that the segment for its M cars is growing strongly and thus the M product range will be broadened in the near future, although slightly more worryingly it also adds that it intends to 'expand its range of powerful M Performance models within the higher volume segments, with a view to capitalising on the growth and earnings potential of the BMW M brand'. Hmm, X3 M and X4 M, anyone?
Anything else?
Krüger said: "Throughout its 100-year history, the BMW Group has always reinvented itself. As a pioneer of new technologies, the company has shaped change, within both the industry and the world of mobility. We are setting the standard with our Strategy Number One > Next, both now and in the future. We will lead the BMW Group into a new era, one in which we will transform and shape both individual mobility and the entire sector in a permanent way."