According to a recent report by Automotive News Europe, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse says the automaker will be introducing a total of four new electric vehicles over the next two years. The plans are part of the automaker’s electrified offensive, which is seeing a revamping of the lineup with an EV in nearly every major vehicle segment by 2023, an ambitious goal that was initially set for 2025. The upcoming BMW models are said to include a battery-powered 7 Series and X1 in 2022, followed by an electric 5 Series and Mini Countryman which are slated to arrive in 2023.
The electric versions of the 5 Series and 7 Series will be built at BMW Group Plant Dingolfing, which recently increased electric motor production output and commenced manufacturing of the upcoming iX. The X1 and Mini Countryman EVs, on the other hand, will be built at BMW Group Plants Regensburg and Leipzig respectively, which both initiated battery production during April of this year.
iDrive Operating System 8, which is slated to arrive with the iX next year, will be added to subsequently models, and BMW’s upcoming vehicle architecture referred to as Neue Klasse is set to arrive in 2025 with an array of propulsion options including electric, hybrid-electric, gasoline, and diesel internal combustion engines.
“Our new vehicle architecture is uncompromisingly electric, whether with battery power or hydrogen,” Zipse added, giving a nod to the iX5 Hydrogen. “The Neue Klasse comes with a new IT and software architecture, as well as newly-developed high-performance electric drivetrain and battery generation.”
While the BMW Group is looking to develop a new modular platform for the BMW and Mini brands, Rolls-Royce, which could have its first electric model take the name of the Silent Shadow in 2023, is expected to retain its own scalable, brand-specific aluminum space frame architecture.—Alex Tock
[Photos courtesy BMW AG.]