Practically every automaker is electrifying its product portfolio, replacing combustion engines with electric drivetrains. This is a complicated process that takes years to achieve and costs billions – billions – of dollars, and even after all that, there’s no guarantee of success. Naturally, some companies have had better results than others in making this transition, and one unexpected winner is BMW.
Outpacing Domestic Rivals
The Munich-based manufacturer is outpacing its fellow German luxury competitors Audi and Mercedes-Benz. Automotive News reports that last year, global deliveries of pure-electric BMWs topped the combined total of EVs sold by its two archrivals.
Blue-chip automotive brands, Audi and Mercedes-Benz both know what they’re doing, and how to design and manufacture some absolutely incredible vehicles, which makes BMW’s EV achievement all the more impressive. So, how were they able to outmaneuver such respected rivals? One major factor is that electric BMWs share common platforms and styling with their combustion-powered siblings – the i5 looks like a 5 Series, the i7 resembles a 7 Series, and so on. This makes the battery-powered offerings familiar to customers and more approachable.
“What pulls people into BMW showrooms is that they have the choice of different powertrain solutions in the model they want,” said Frank Weber, a member of the automaker’s board of management in an interview with Automotive News. This is a major reason why BWM has overtaken its primary rivals.
In comparison, Mercedes-Benz took a completely different approach with its electric vehicle lineup.
for instance, is analogous to the traditional S-Class flagship four-door, though the all-electric model is fundamentally different, built on a dedicated EV architecture. This car also wears unique styling and is, arguably, less attractive than the regular S-Class. Using common architectures is easy for drivers to understand and gives BMW greater scale – the more vehicles you can sell using shared components, the more money you can make.
Building On Early Success
Going forward, Weber noted that EV range isn’t a top concern for customers. He said that in real-world conditions, vehicles that can drive anywhere between 250 and 310 miles on a charge are more than enough for many drivers, though that won’t stop BMW from making improvements in this area. The upcoming Neue Klasse models will increase those range estimates by around 30 percent.
“From the data we have, only very few people travel distances of several hundred kilometers with a BEV (battery electric vehicle). That said,” continued Weber, “the charging network remains the No. 1 concern for our customers.” Motorists in Europe have access to more than 670,000 charging locations, though EV infrastructure is likely a much bigger concern for drivers in the U.S.
When asked about ever-larger vehicle battery packs, Weber said this strategy does not make sense. These electron reservoirs are massive, incredibly expensive, and cost a fortune to manufacturers. Beyond all that, if you were aiming to build a car with, say, 621 miles (1,000 km) of range or more, “The CO2 footprint of your vehicle would become unnecessarily bad,” another reason to avoid big batteries.
BMW’s multi-pronged powertrain approach makes a lot of sense and means the automaker will continue to offer some exciting engines in the future. “V-8s are here to say,” said Weber. “There are markets such as the U.S. and Middle East where you cannot replace V-8s with inline-6 hybrids … customers like the smoothness, sound and feeling of a V-8,” he explained. “We will continue to offer V-8s.”
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