BMW steps up electrification plans, turns Mini into e-car brand
Clean Energy Wire
BMW has stepped up its plans for the electrification of its vehicle fleet and will turn Mini into a pure e-car brand. The Munich-based carmaker said the last new Mini with a combustion engine will enter the market in 2025. By 2027, the share of electric cars in Mini sales is to reach at least 50 percent, and the brand will only sell electric cars by the early 2030s. "We have a clear roadmap for making the transformation of our industry a real competitive advantage for BMW in the coming years: uncompromisingly electric, digital and circular," company CEO Oliver Zipse said.
BMW deliveries of fully electric models are to grow by "well over 50 percent annually" on average by 2025 and therefore increase more than tenfold compared to last year. "By the end of 2025, the BMW Group will have delivered around two million fully electric vehicles to customers worldwide," the company said. Fully electric vehicles are to account for at least 50 percent of global deliveries by 2030.
BMW is mainly known for its racy performance vehicles, even though the Bavarian company was also a pioneer in e-mobility and sustainability among German carmakers. Yet BMW has fallen behind domestic rivals VW, Daimler and U.S. company Tesla on the road to electrification.
