Fully charged, two years ahead of schedule: BMW Group steps up the pace of e-mobility expansion

·      Two years early: 25 electrified models in 2023

·      Steep growth curve: sales of electrified vehicles to climb
more than 30 percent per year up to 2025

·      Sales of electrified vehicles set to more than double between
2019 and 2021

·      World premieres at #NEXTGen: BMW Vision M NEXT and BMW
Motorrad Vision DC Roadster showcase next-generation e-mobility

·      BMW eDrive Zones function fitted as standard in BMW plug-in
hybrids from 2020

·      Krüger: “Moving sustainable mobility up a gear”

 

Munich. Fully charged as it accelerates along its
Future Highway 2025, the BMW Group is adjusting frequency to up the
tempo of its electromobility expansion programme. The company will now
achieve the total of 25 electrified models previously announced for
2025 two years earlier, in 2023. Thanks to flexible
vehicle architectures for fully-electric, plug-in hybrid and
combustion engine drive trains, the company is able to respond quickly
to changing conditions. More than half of the 25 models will be fully electric.

 

“We are moving up a gear in the transformation towards sustainable
mobility, thereby making our company fit for the future: Over the past
two years, we have consistently taken numerous decisions that we are
now bringing to the roads. By 2021, we will have doubled our sales of
electrified vehicles compared with 2019,” said Harald
Krüger
, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, in
Munich on Tuesday. “We will offer 25 electrified vehicles already in
2023 – two years earlier than originally planned. We expect to see a
steep growth curve towards 2025: Sales of our electrified vehicles
should increase by an average of 30 percent every year.”

 

As part of the new #NEXTGen communications format,
the BMW Group is showcasing the next generation of mobility and next
steps it’s taking in that direction. The BMW Vision M
NEXT
provides a glimpse of the dynamic future of the BMW
brand in the form of a striking electrified sportscar. The BMW Vision
M NEXT is clearly focused on the person driving the vehicle, with
intelligent technology to transform them into the ultimate driver. The
BMW Motorrad Vision DC Roadster previews the future
of BMW Motorrad with alternative drive forms. This highly emotional
motorcycle preserves the identity and iconic BMW Motorrad appearance,
but also offers a new form of driving fun.

 

“Our vision is clear: sustainable mobility, produced in a sustainable
manner. We have set ourselves the goal of only buying electricity from
renewable energy sources for all our locations worldwide from 2020,”
said Krüger. “We fulfil our social responsibility –
in all its different facets. We are firmly committed to emission-free
driving. At the same time, we stand by our corporate responsibility
towards our employees, shareholders and investors.”

 

The BMW Group: a pioneer in electromobility

 

As an e-mobility pioneer, the BMW Group is already a leading supplier
of electrified vehicles. By the end of 2019, the company aims to have
more than half a million vehicles with fully-electric or plug-in
hybrid drive trains on the roads. Within two years, the company will
offer five fully-electric series-production vehicles: Alongside the
BMW i3, with more than 150,000 units built to date,
this year will see the start of production of the
fully-electric MINI at Plant Oxford (UK). This will
be followed in 2020 by the fully-electric BMW iX3
from Shenyang (China) and, in 2021, by the BMW iNEXT,
which will be produced in Dingolfing (Germany), and the BMW
i4
from Plant Munich (Germany).

 

Including its extensive fleet of plug-in hybrids, the BMW Group has
the widest range of electrified vehicles on the market. Updated,
extended electric-range plug-in-hybrid versions of the BMW 3 Series,
BMW 7 Series and BMW X5 were presented alongside the new BMW X3
plug-in hybrid at this year’s Geneva Motor Show. A few weeks later,
the updated plug-in hybrid variant of the BMW X1 Long Wheelbase
Version, which is produced locally for the Chinese market, was shown
at the Shanghai Auto Show. Later this summer, plug-in hybrid versions
of the BMW 5 Series and BMW 2 Series Active Tourer with
next-generation technology and longer electric range will also be
released. These will be followed next year by the BMW X1 and the BMW 3
Series Touring as plug-in hybrid models. This diversity of electrified
drive concepts underlines the importance of technology openness on the
road to sustainable mobility.

 

The BMW Group has always promoted emission-free mobility and
advocated for its effective support. However, the demands of future
mobility will be multifaceted. There will not be just one single
solution that meets the mobility needs of all customers around the
world. People living in rural areas, for instance, need different
technological solutions for mobility than those in cities.

 

BMW eDrive Zones standard in plug-in hybrids from 2020

 

The effective role plug-in hybrids can play in achieving
emission-free mobility in cities is demonstrated by the BMW
eDrive Zones
function, which will be standard in BMW
plug-in hybrids from 2020: In cities that establish “green zones”
solely for emission-free driving, geofencing technology will be able
to recognise these automatically. When the vehicle enters one of these
zones, it will automatically switch to pure electric driving mode. In
this way, BMW is paving the way for plug-in hybrids to receive the
same access rights to green zones as fully-electric vehicles, since
they behave the same in these areas.

 

This new type of operating strategy significantly
boosts
the potential of plug-in hybrid vehicles to reduce
emissions. Increasing the use of electric driving not only optimises
efficiency, but also helps reduce operating costs for customers –
especially in city traffic. After the idea was born, the first
real-life test for the BMW eDrive Zones function is the BMW Group’s
“Electric City Drive” pilot project, in conjunction with the
City of Rotterdam and the local Erasmus University.

 

New #NEXTGen communications format

 

With the “BMW Group #NEXTGen” format, the company is taking a new
approach to presenting its future technologies, services and products.
The BMW Group invited international journalists, analysts and other
stakeholders to the BMW Welt in Munich to experience six world
premieres and two highly emotional vision vehicles. The programme will
be rounded off with a Global Influencer Day on 26 June.

 

In this way, the company is building on its existing global
commitment to international auto shows and tech and future fairs with
a regular independent format for individual mobility “made by the BMW
Group”. In addition to world premieres of new models, a particular
focus will be on experiencing the latest technological developments
from all D+ACES areas of the company: Design, Autonomous Driving,
Connectivity, Electrification, Services.

 

 

If you have any questions, please contact:

 

Corporate Communications

 

Max-Morten Borgmann, Corporate Communications

Telephone:

+49 89 382-24118
, Max-Morten.Borgmann@bmwgroup.com

 

Mathias Schmidt, head of Corporate and Culture Communications

Telephone:

+49 89 382-24544
, Mathias.M.Schmidt@bmw.de

 

Media website: www.press.bmwgroup.com

Email: presse@bmwgroup.com

 

 

The BMW Group

With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW
Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and
motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services.
The BMW Group production network comprises 31 production and assembly
facilities in 15 countries; the company has a global sales network in
more than 140 countries.

In 2018, the BMW Group sold over 2,490,000 passenger vehicles and
more than 165,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the
financial year 2018 was € 9.815 billion on revenues amounting to
€ 97.480 billion. As of 31 December 2018, the BMW Group had a
workforce of 134,682 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

 

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