After the launch of BMW i8 and electric i3, the company has not introduced any new electric offering in the market. Although the company did add a convertible version of its i8 sports car as a variant in the i8 range. However, last Wednesday in Munich, BMW CEO Harold Kruger broke his silence and detailed the company’s plan for upcoming electric vehicles.
Kruger disclosed that BMW Group became a pioneer in the electric vehicle segment by launching the BMW i3. He further added that electrification is one of the key pillars in the company’s “Number One” strategy. Kruger added that BMW will introduce four fully-electric models by the year 2021. The lineup will include the Mini Electric, the BMW iX3, i3, i4 and iNEXT.
The company plans on growing this number to 12 models by the year 2025. The 12 models will include both plug-in hybrids and electric-only vehicles. The plug-in hybrids will be offered with improved range and the company aims to grow its electrified car portfolio even further to 25 models.
The foundation of this plan is BMW’s flexible vehicle architectures and global production set up. BMW will use a single production line to manufacture conventional plug-in hybrid and fully-electric vehicles. The increasing demand for electric vehicles will be met by integrating e-Mobility in BMW’s current production network.
The company plans on delivering 140,000 electric vehicles to customers by the end of 2018. The production benchmark for 2019 has been further increased and BMW plans on getting more than 500,000 all-electric vehicles on road next year.
The company is working on the 5th generation electric powertrain which will feature electric motors, transmission, electronics and batteries that will be tweaked to offer optimum performance. The first model to feature BMW 5th generation electric drivetrain technology will be the upcoming BMW iX3, which will make its debut in 2020.
Under a 4 billion euro agreement with Chinese company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) BMW’s Dingolfing plant will receive batteries from CATL. The Dingolfing plant has been commissioned to manufacture the BMW iNEXT electric vehicle and CATL will manufacture batteries for the upcoming EV out of its plant in Erfurt.
BMW has also announced that it will be entering into a joint-technology consortium with Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt and Belgium-based company Umicore.
