Germany’s BMW says that they aren’t worried about the company banning internal combustion engine vehicles by 2030. Because they are not about wondering whether it is a good idea or not, but that is how they plan to do things. According to the EU proposed ban, fossil fuel cars are to be banned by 2035. Being part of a plan to combat global warming, the 2035 goal is extensive, but BMW plans for a more expensive plan.
Zipse told a conference in the town of Nuertingen, near Stuttgart said, “We will be ICE-ban ready. If a region, a city, a country gets the idea of banning ICEs, we have an offering. The BMW Group is not worried about this. Whether it’s a good idea is another question… but we will have an offering.”
It is to be noted that BMW has not set an end date for fossil fuel car production to end. However, the company expects that by 2030 around 50% of its sales will be electric vehicles. On the other side, the company’s rivals like Volkswagen and General Motors are working on shifting their production plants and other facilities towards EVs.
BMW making EVs
Last year BMW announced that they will be having nine new electric car models by 2025. They will be expanding the electric vehicle offerings with new i5 and i7 saloons. During the announcement, BMW also added that they plan to sell more than seven million plug-in vehicles by 2030.
BMW has been focusing on leading the industry by competing with automakers like Audi, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz. Now, BMW is continuing to focus on shifting to electric vehicles, including their Mini brand. The Mini brand will be launching two electric vehicles. So far, the company was able to sell more than 500,000 vehicles under both BMW and the Mini brand.
Additionally, BMW’s approach towards EV platform setup is unique. With a “‘Neue Klasse”(New Class) approach. Where the first stage of the platform will be the ‘Project i’ program, where new EVs will be launched and new software will be explored. It is more about the digital interaction of the vehicle.
Then comes the second phase, the ‘Power of Choice’ strategy. Here many powertrain options will be available including all EVs and combustion engine models. Later in the third stage, BMW will develop a “completely novel user experience that is never before seen in series production vehicles”.
The CEO Oliver Zipse said in a statement earlier, “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 characterize the Neue Klasse: high tech on four wheels for customers intent on experiencing in just five years’ time how mobility will feel in 2030,”