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BMW Aims for EV Supremacy, Thinks It's More Important Than Actual Sales

BMW isn't currently the leader in anything in particular. The Bavarians have lost the top sales spot to their bitter rivals from up North, Mercedes-Benz, and their electric vehicles aren't exactly selling like the proverbial hotcakes either.
BMW Vision Next 100 Concept 1 photo
Photo: BMW
Similarly, autonomous driving technology isn't their strong suit, even though things do look a lot more promising here given their partnership with Intel and Mobileye, and the recent addition of Delphi as a third partner. Their work is kept under wraps, but given the names involved, it'll probably bring fruition pretty fast.

That being said, the situation at BMW is far from being bleak. The German carmaker registered a record 2.37 million vehicles built last year (including all brands in the group - BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce), and it's currently looking to increase production even further for its plants throughout the world.

As you would expect these days, electric vehicles occupy a pivotal role in BMW's plans, even though the present is less than flattering under this respect. Last year, BMW sold 62,000 electrified vehicles, out of which 25,500 were the only all-electric model on offer, the i3. For 2016, the Bavarian manufacturer looks to increase those sales numbers from 62,000 to 100,000.

That may not sound like that much, but BMW doesn't have any new EVs planned for this year, meaning the bulk of the forecasted increase will be made out of hybrid vehicles. Not exactly revolutionary, but it's a start.

According to Automotive News, Krueger believes BMW's success depends on being a technological leader in what appear to be the most significant fields of the industry - i.e. electric propulsion, autonomous driving, and connectivity - rather than the actual sales. But that could just be a "grapes are sour" situation where the company knows it won't steal the sales crown back from Mercedes-Benz, so it claims it won't even attempt to.

Over the course of last year, rumors of BMW building electric versions of the 3 Series sedan and the X3 SUV have emerged, but none have been confirmed yet. We do know of an upcoming MINI model that will use battery power which is slammed as a "niche model" developed from the ground up. BMW is also gearing up for the production version of the iNext, coming in 2021. It will have electric propulsion and will be capable of Level 4 autonomous driving. That's because a BMW will always keep its steering wheel, Krueger says.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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