The BMW Group in 2017 said it planned to launch 25 electrified vehicles across its brands by 2025, specifically plug-in hybrids and battery-electric cars.
The automaker on Tuesday said it now expects to reach the target two years earlier, i.e. in 2023, and more than half of the 25 cars will have battery-electric powertrains. Originally, only 12 were to have battery-electric powertrains.
The reason for the acceleration is due to stronger than expected demand for electrified cars, with BMW expecting demand to grow on average by 30 percent per year through 2025. In fact, the automaker expects sales of its electrified cars to more than double between 2019 and 2021.
BMW electrification roadmap
Due to BMW using a flexible platform compatible with internal-combustion, plug-in hybrid and battery-electric powertrains, the automaker is able to change its lineup relatively quickly.
“We are moving up a gear in the transformation towards sustainable mobility, thereby making our company fit for the future,” BMW CEO Harald Krueger said. “Over the past two years, we have consistently taken numerous decisions that we are now bringing to the roads.”
Crucially, some of the electrified cars will come from the M division, as indicated by the Vision M Next concept unveiled on Tuesday. They will be plug-in hybrids, as the M division doesn't expect to have a battery-electric car in its fleet until after 2025. As an indication of what's possible, the Vision M Next concept combined a 4-cylinder engine with a pair of electric motors for an output of 600 horsepower.
BMW Vision M Next concept
