BMW ramps up e-mobility strategy

BMW recently shared its current and planned initiatives as the German automaker ramps up its transformation towards e-mobility. According to BMW, the company is preparing for a comprehensive leap in technology and is significantly upping the pace of its electrification strategy.

“We see 2021 as clear evidence that successful transformation pays off. The strong result we achieved in financial year 2021 is the outcome of our consistent strategy — with an open-technology approach and the right products at the right time. We have laid the foundations to build on this success in the coming years: With the Neue Klasse, we are leading sustainable mobility into a new technological dimension. By extending the contract with our BBA (BMW Brilliance Automotive) joint venture until 2040, the BMW Group is also taking its growth to the next level,” said BMW AG Chairman of the Board of Management Oliver Zipse.

Key to this strategy is the BMW Neue Klasse, a new BEV-only vehicle architecture that will allow the Munich-based brand to take a major technological leap and provide its customers with an all-new electric drive train with lower fuel consumption and higher range.

The company plans to announce details of a  new battery technology — which is already the sixth generation independently developed by the BMW Group — before the end of 2022. Within the next 12 months, the BMW Group will also provide a first glimpse of the potential of the Neue Klasse for the next generation of connectivity and user interaction.

Neu Klasse will allow BMW to realign its offerings and introduce an entirely redefined IT and software system, a newly developed high-performance electric drive train and battery generation, and a new level of sustainability throughout the entire lifecycle.

BMW believes that Neue Klasse has the potential to further speed up the market penetration of e-mobility.

Neue Klasse prototypes, said BMW, will roll out from the digitalized BMW iFactory in Debrecen. The digitalized Hungarian facility, as well as other locations which are scheduled to follow similar upgrades, will follow the BMW Group’s Lean, Green, and Digital approach to vehicle production.

“We are making good progress with the comprehensive digitalization of the company and its products, and the gradual electrification of our lineup. We are able to cover the high investments we are making out of our own resources, today and in the future. We have the staying power and the financial strength for this far-reaching transformation,” said BMW AG Board of Management Member Nicolas Peter.

BMW is also involving its stakeholders — from employees to the capital market to society — in its successful, consistently implemented transformation strategy. All stakeholders in the company, according to BMW, will benefit from the said transformation. From the addition of new jobs to the increase of its employees’ profit-sharing bonus.

“The main secret to BMW’s success is our associates: They deserve our thanks, our respect, and our recognition for their achievements in 2021. We all share the same core belief that we at the BMW Group move people, touch their hearts and inspire their minds. We are working together to continue this success in the future,” said Zipse.

“Our workforce also benefits from the success of the company: last autumn, for instance, we once again expanded the preferred stock program introduced in 1989 that allows employees to buy shares in the company on favorable terms,” added Peter.

By ramping up its electrification strategy, BMW looks to put around two million BEVs on the road by 2025 and deliver some 10 million fully electric vehicles to customers by 2030.

Photos from BMW

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