Photo: BMW
Mercedes-Benz managed to steal the show at this year's Mondial de l'Automobile by announcing the launch of its new electric mobility brand called EQ, together with a concept car to show everybody what we should expect from these future models.
BMW, on the other hand, has had conflicting reports about its involvement in the EV battle. BMW seemed to be the most determined of the German Premium Trinity regarding EVs, but after launching its electric "i" range with the two models we all know (one of which was a hybrid), the Bavarians appeared to have hit a wall.
To make matters worse, rumors started circulating claiming that BMW couldn't do both electric cars and self-driving vehicles, and so decided to focus on the latter. That meant it would give up on what now looks like it will definitely be a very important share of the market in the coming decade. Well, if that was ever the plan, it sure went down the drain in the meanwhile.
That's because last month, the final version of BMW's electric program came in and it claimed that three were three models being planned, none of which had anything to do with the "i" range. Instead, they had very much to do with the 3 Series, the X4 coupe SUV, and one unspecified MINI model.
During an interview for Bloomberg at the Paris Motor Show, Chief Executive Officer Harald Krueger confirmed that BMW would launch an electric version of one of its SUVs. However, it wasn't going to be the X4 but something more similar to the X3. The news came just one day after Mercedes-Benz presented the Generation EQ, the brand's first EV designed from scratch as such.
According to Mr. Krueger, the first of the two to hit the market is going to be the MINI, which will come in 2019, with the electric BMW SUV following just one year later. Mercedes-Benz hasn't given an exact release date for the production version of the Generation EQ, but it did say it was close to production. That means we're looking at a release no later than 2018, assuming everything goes well.
Despite the less than ideal situation its company finds itself in, the BMW found the resources to be a little arrogant. He said: “Competitors are now in phase one on their electric strategy, while we’re entering phase two. We’re already well on our way to electrifying the core portfolio, using powertrain technology from BMW i.”
If there's one thing that these statements make crystal clear is that there isn't one move that any of these three companies can make without the other two following and try to better its effort. And that's very good news for us, the public.
To make matters worse, rumors started circulating claiming that BMW couldn't do both electric cars and self-driving vehicles, and so decided to focus on the latter. That meant it would give up on what now looks like it will definitely be a very important share of the market in the coming decade. Well, if that was ever the plan, it sure went down the drain in the meanwhile.
That's because last month, the final version of BMW's electric program came in and it claimed that three were three models being planned, none of which had anything to do with the "i" range. Instead, they had very much to do with the 3 Series, the X4 coupe SUV, and one unspecified MINI model.
During an interview for Bloomberg at the Paris Motor Show, Chief Executive Officer Harald Krueger confirmed that BMW would launch an electric version of one of its SUVs. However, it wasn't going to be the X4 but something more similar to the X3. The news came just one day after Mercedes-Benz presented the Generation EQ, the brand's first EV designed from scratch as such.
According to Mr. Krueger, the first of the two to hit the market is going to be the MINI, which will come in 2019, with the electric BMW SUV following just one year later. Mercedes-Benz hasn't given an exact release date for the production version of the Generation EQ, but it did say it was close to production. That means we're looking at a release no later than 2018, assuming everything goes well.
Despite the less than ideal situation its company finds itself in, the BMW found the resources to be a little arrogant. He said: “Competitors are now in phase one on their electric strategy, while we’re entering phase two. We’re already well on our way to electrifying the core portfolio, using powertrain technology from BMW i.”
If there's one thing that these statements make crystal clear is that there isn't one move that any of these three companies can make without the other two following and try to better its effort. And that's very good news for us, the public.
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