BMW Commits to EV Push & Reduced Corporate Consumption
MINI will be the first branch of BMW to go all electric, with a 50% EV target for the rest of the BMW brand by 2030.
Electrification is the name of the game in the current automotive world. And BMW recently announced they are diving into the EV market head first. Not exactly unexpected news, but through a recent board meeting at BMW AG, we learned of exactly what this “roadmap” of electrification entails.
For the juicy bits first, BMW plans to utilize its MINI brand as the first all electric platform. To us, this makes a great deal of sense. MINI, as a brand, has a lot of “cool factor” to it, and given its size, represents a perfect segment to implement the EV strategy. With EV’s being introduced as an affordable city car, it can then lead to up-market strategy for the rest of the BMW brand. It will be called the MINI SE, and is currently in production. MINI’s SE is slated to take over for the Countryman, and be a crossover style vehicle.
BMW will then move forward with another ambitious plan. By 2023, BMW wants to have 90 percent of its market segments equipped with an all-electric model. This could be the i3, iX, or i4. Reading carefully, it doesn’t mean 90 percent of cars will be EV, just that 90 percent of the places where you can buy a BMW will have an EV available – most likely through MINI. Eventually, BMW plans to have 50 percent of its global volume as EV cars by 2030.
Part of that volume will be led by the new BMW iX, and i4. “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 Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. Using hydroelectric plants, BMW’s carbon footprint will not only be mitigated, but they claim it will be reduced. It’s no secret that electric vehicles have their own emission offsets, with large amounts of energy needed to create them. But BMW’s measures will ensure they are greener than the typical internal combustion powered ride.
Going forward, BMW wants to further reduce its emissions, and continue to recycle and use renewables in the process of making new cars. Lessons learned during the production of BMW’s i3 will help in sustainability going forward. And in fact, their Munich plant is being completely re-tooled for EV production. Existing combustion engines will be made in Steyr, Austria and Hams Hall, in the UK.
Photos: BMW
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