BMW CEO Says Electric Mobility Is Brand's "Top Priority"

The BMW Group is on track to sell 100,000 plug-in electric vehicles this year, and at the same time reach cumulative sales of 200,000 vehicles.

BMW i + BMW iPerformance + MINI PHEV sales worldwide – September 2017

BMW's CEO Harald Krüger, was recently interviewed by Canadian Driving.ca, and revealed that electric mobility is a top priority for the company.

At the most recent Frankfurt Motor Show in October, the German manufacturer revealed:

• a slightly refreshed BMW i3 and new sporty version BMW i3s
• BMW Concept X7 iPerformance - a three row plug-in hybrid SUV
• BMW i Vision Dynamics - all electric four-door Gran Coupe that will eventually evolve into a production model
• MINI Electric Concept - the production version is expected in 2019

Later this month, BMW is promising to bring 5 all-electric models to the LA Auto Show (some like the i3s, MINI Electric that we saw in Germany), but also a brand new "World Premiere" offering that we have yet to see.

Harald Krüger boasts that besides the lithium-ion cells (supplied by Samsung SDI), BMW is developing and producing its electrified cars in-house (battery packs, power-trains):

“Not many companies can achieve that. We can react quickly to demands and segments, and the flexibility of our architecture for front- and rear-wheel drive can deliver into several sections.”

The switch to plug-in vehicles also brings a lot of new challenges for car manufacturers, because they need to engage the new "refuelling" (charging) infrastructure, while at the same time need to be involved with the re-use/second life of their electric vehicle's batteries, as well as other new topics that require investments in an already capital-intensive business that is full of new technologies (autonomous driving, connectivity). On charging Krüger said:

“You need a knowledge network to develop a charging standard. Companies cannot afford three or four standards, and customers need to be able to use every available charging station with standardized switches.”

source: Driving.ca via BMW Blog