Green is the new black for the world’s automakers. Tesla has positioned electric vehicles (EVs) as the wave of the future, challenging “old school” manufacturers to rise to the occasion.
Never late to the party when it comes to new technology, BMW is throttling up efforts to bring several new EVs to market. New models include two “crossover” type vehicles of the sort dominating new car lots these days, as well as a more traditional electrified sedan, a Mini-branded EV and even a high-tech EV motorcycle.
It’s a bold step into the EV playing field, which is why we’re surprised that BWM exec Klaus Fröhlich was less-than-positive on the topic at a recent BMW press event.
EVs get SAVage
Sports Activity Vehicle or SAV is the trendy category the market as created for 90s-sized SUVs.
Call them what you want, they sell. So it makes sense that BMW is touting the arrival of two all-electric SAVs, the iX3 and the iNEXT concept.
In fact, when you consider the way that the current i3 has been on the market since 2013, it’s surprising BMW didn’t launch these models sooner.
Nevertheless, the iX3 is planned for a 2020 launch and will give bimmerphiles a genuine all-electric alternative to the X3 as well as competition from Audi, Mercedes etc.
Nearly the spitting image of the current X3 crossover, you can expect the market to be more accepting of the iX than its more quirky i3 cousin. It gets BMW’s latest electric powertrain technology, which is good enough for roughly 250 miles of range using Munich’s latest 5th-generation electric powertrain.
250 miles falls just short of the industry-benchmark 300-mile number but will suffice for many consumers. If you’re holding out for the real halo car, the 2021-slated iNext promises a Tesla-challenging 400-mile reach and level-3 autonomous driving.
BMW’s Electrification Dilemma
As 2020 edges nearer, BMW is being pulled simultaneously in the directions of the future and the past. The i4 model will bring electric power to the masses in the shape of a sports sedan, paying homage to the cars that made BMW what it is today.
However, the i4 will face stiff competition for sales from multiple hybrid models, which BMW plans to add to nearly every model category in its lineup by 2025.
Like we mentioned earlier, BMW Chief of Engineering Klaus Fröhlich did not sound excited about the new EVs at the company’s own launch event, saying ” [EVs are] for China and California and everywhere else is better off with [plug-in hybrids] with good EV range.”
China and California are large markets, but they shrink in comparison with the rest of the planet, where BMW sales are strong.
It may be that advancing EV technology now is essential for the brand to remain competitive as the markets attention shifts from fossil fuels to hybrids to EVs.
But manufacturing four different types of propulsion technology (five if you count the low-production hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles BMW makes) at the same time has got to put a strain on the automaker’s bottom line. This is likely why Fröhlich is unafraid to share his feelings about gasoline, diesel and hybrids staying popular for the next 20-30 years.
32 Flavors of BMW
It has been said that when brands compete, consumers win. If you’re in the car market in 2020, that adage rings true.
Marques are moving frantically to remain relevant in a forward-looking market, but at the same time refuse to divorce themselves from more traditional technologies that consumers love.
So have it your way, people. Unless, that is, you want something with a manual transmission. What’d you expect to drive the thing yourself?