BMW is planning to have 25 electrified vehicles by 2023, and more than half of them will be fully electric.
Despite this, the automaker isn’t giving up on petrol and diesel engines. Speaking to Automotive News at the sidelines of their #NEXTGen event, BMW development boss Klaus Fröhlich said the internal combustion engine isn’t going away anytime soon.
As he explained, “a best assumption of 30 percent of electrified sales by 2025 means that at least 80 percent of our vehicles will have an internal combustion engine”. He went on say the company believes diesels will be around for at least 20 more years, while petrol engines should stick around for at least three more decades.
While BMW is going electric, Froelich says the shift is “overhyped.” In particular, he believes a number of markets won’t embrace electric or electrified vehicles for well over a decade. He noted a lack of charging infrastructure could mean Russia, the Middle East and parts of China continue to rely on petrol engines for another 10-15 years. He also believes electric vehicles won’t become mainstream in the United States as they’ll only be popular on the East and West Coast.
Froelich also said EVs have a number of downsides including the fact that they cost more to produce than conventionally powered vehicles. This is due to their battery packs and the board member believes prices for raw materials used to create them could climb as demand increases.
Also Read: BMW Says It Doesn’t See A Future For Its V12 Engine
Despite sounds somewhat downbeat on electric vehicles, Froelich revealed a number of internal combustion engines will be dropped in the future. Among them are the 1.5-liter three-cylinder diesel and the quad-turbo 3.0-liter six-cylinder diesel in the 750d. The V12 is also getting the axe as the company only sells about 5,000 units annually and they have to be constantly updated to meet emission standards.
