BMW M reveals its electrification plan
And the good news is the Bavarian performance brand will still sell combustion-powered cars in 2030BMW’s high-performance division, BMW M, will still sell combustion-powered cars in 2030, even as it electrifies its range.
BMW M president Frank van Meel confirmed that by the end of this decade, the vast majority of the German sub-brand’s sales will be full battery-electric vehicles (EVs), followed by traditional petrol-powered fast cars and SUVs, then a smaller number of plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs).
“It is our plan to keep offering combustion power for longer than some of our competitors, but we will offer people the choice,” said van Meel at the global launch of the new BMW M2 and XM in Scottsdale, Arizona, recently.
“People consider that our BEVs will be high-performance EVs, but our combustion cars will be cleaner than ever and high-performance, too.”
While the EU’s new emission regulations demand that volume manufacturers like BMW M reduce their CO2 emissions by 55 per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035, BMW M insists it will still comply in 2030 – despite selling combustion-powered cars.
“We will, and always have been, fully emissions-compliant,” van Meel insisted.
The BMW mothership is planning on EVs accounting for a fifth of its sales this year, increasing to 25 per cent in 2025 and 33 per cent by 2026.
Meanwhile, BMW M’s crossover point for EVs becoming more popular than combustion-powered cars is expected to be 2028, which is also when sales of its PHEVs will start to decline.
While it is famed for its high-powered M3, M4 and M5 models, the biggest-selling M-car in 2022 was the BMW i4 M Performance EV, which helped grow BMW M’s global sales by 18.9 per cent in the first quarter of this year.
The second major boost to the brand has been the first ever M3 Touring, which has been a massive hit in left- and right-hand drive markets, except North America.
The first M3 Touring, new BMW M2 Coupe and all-new BMW XM plug-in hybrid super-SUV will arrive in Australia later than expected – but still before mid-2023 – and BMW also has updates planned for the X5 M and X6 M this year.
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