German automaker BMW is pushing forward with an ambitious electrification plan to lead the industry transformation, despite the challenging international market environment in 2022. The carmaker declared that pure electric vehicles will be a key driver of its sales growth this year and that it anticipates a rapid growth trajectory for electric models in the coming years. By 2024, at least one in five of its new cars sold will have a fully-electric drivetrain. Every fourth new vehicle delivered will be a battery electric vehicle by 2025, and about one in three will be a BEV by 2026. To achieve these goals, BMW signed battery cell contracts worth more than $10.6 billion with battery giants, including CATL, EVE Energy, and Envision AESC, in 2022.
The NEUE KLASSE, BMW’s next-generation of BEV, will be ramped up in the next two years and launched starting from 2025 with a lineup of at least six models within 24 months, including a sports activity vehicle and a pure electric sedan in the BMW 3 Series segment, according to the carmaker. The NEUE KLASSE models will adopt BMW’s sixth-generation eDrive electric drive system and a new generation of lithium-ion batteries, resulting in a 50 percent reduction in overall costs, a more than 20 percent increase in cell energy density, a 30 percent extension in driving range and a 30 percent increase in charging speed.
BMW’s Rolls-Royce, MINI and Motorrad Urban Mobility brands are also expected to be fully electric by 2030. To fully electrify its brand and product line, BMW is upgrading its global production system based on the BMW iFACTORY strategy, which emphasizes lean, green and digital manufacturing principles to create a new production concept in the electric era.
According to the BMW Group, it is unlikely that all global markets will have the necessary infrastructure for customers to transition to pure EVs within the next decade. As such, the company is exploring hydrogen fuel cell technology as an alternative eco-friendly option for its vehicles, which could have potential in the second half of the decade.