Even though Euro 7 regulations expected to come into effect in 2025 will ultimately be far more relaxed than the initial proposal, there’s no going back from the EV onslaught. BMW is pressing ahead with its electric agenda after 2023 when deliveries of zero-emission cars represented 15% of total volume. The goal for this year is for EVs to account for 20% of all shipments, followed in 2025 when the German luxury brand aspires to hit 25%.
BMW has already established an objective for 2026 when it wants a third of its cars to do away with the good ol’ combustion engine. If everything goes according to plan, 33% of all vehicles delivered are going to be purely electric. How can the company achieve its lofty goals? By launching new EVs in the following years.
The i5 Touring will break cover next month but the real electric revolution is scheduled for 2025. The first Neue Klasse-based model is programmed to go on sale next year as an X3-sized crossover. Projected to be a high-volume EV, the iX3 successor is going to roll off the assembly line at the new Debrecen factory in Hungary. In 2026, an equivalent sedan – tentatively called i3 – will be produced at home in Munich.
In a best-case scenario, BMW reckons EVs will be just as profitable as traditional cars powered by combustion engines from 2026. Speaking of which, the company believes demand for ICE vehicles has peaked and after a plateau, sales will begin to decline. More and more people are expected to transition to EVs, a trend accelerated by the launch of at least six Neue Klasse models before 2028. Of course, higher taxation on ICE cars will play an important role as well.
BMW has already announced it will build next-gen EVs in Mexico and China, although without disclosing the identities of these vehicles. It is believed some of the Neue Klasse cars due to arrive after the iX3 crossover and i3 sedan will be an i3 Touring and an iX4, but nothing is official yet. China is getting locally designed models to join the long-wheelbase iX1 and i5 built and sold there.
Source: Automotive News Europe
