The past 2021 is a year for traditional car companies to accelerate their transformation. Countless pioneering pure electric models appeared in front of us, among which the bmw iX was still vividly remembered when it appeared at the Guangzhou Auto Show.
Those unheard of black technologies allow us to appreciate the brand's years of technical accumulation, but also let us see the determination of electrification transformation. At the annual earnings meeting on March 16, the BMW Group announced that the electrification process will be accelerated again, showing us its ambitions for the future.
2022: i7 leads, 15 new cars
Last year was a harvest year for BMW, with the brand's global new energy sales up 70% to more than 320,000 units. In order to continue this momentum, the new energy matrix will be further expanded this year, and the number of pure electric models will be mass-produced and trial-produced to 15 models.
Among the 15 models, in addition to the iX, i4, and iX3 that are already on the market, there are also pure electric models of the 3 series, 5 series, X1 series, etc., and the most anticipated is the pure electric BMW i7 that will be launched in the world with the new BMW 7 series in April. In multiple power modes, the new 7 Series will also be BMW's first sedan to offer both an internal combustion engine, plug-in hybrid and pure electric.
As another focus of new energy technology, BMW is also promoting the development of hydrogen fuel cell technology. Currently, the BMW iX5 Hydrogen is undergoing extreme cold testing, and small-scale mass production will be carried out at the end of the year. It is expected that from the second half of the 2020s, hydrogen fuel cell technology will be more and more represented in the drive system portfolio.
2025: Entering the "New Generation"
BMW said that the "new generation" models will have a completely redesigned IT and software architecture, high-performance electric drive systems and batteries, as well as a new sustainable concept throughout the vehicle life cycle, in particular the prioritization of reusable materials and the promotion of a circular economy.
The sixth-generation eDrive electric drive system combines performance and cost control with new chemical and battery form factors. The "next generation" model with the new structure and equipped with the sixth-generation eDrive electric drive system will roll off the production line in 2024.
By then, BMW's new energy matrix is sufficiently perfect, and it is expected that the sales of electric models will also grow rapidly: by the end of 2025, the BMW Group plans to deliver a total of 2 million pure electric vehicles.
2030: Cumulative delivery of 10 million vehicles
"By 2030, at least half of all global sales will be pure electric vehicles. We are doing everything possible to achieve this ahead of schedule. By then, the annual sales volume of pure electric vehicles will exceed 1.5 million units. Of course, this also depends on the speed of development of charging infrastructure in different parts of the world, as well as the availability of battery-related raw materials," Ziptzer said.
According to Chiptzer, in order to ensure the production of existing models, the BMW Group has also made full preparations for the supply of key components. For example, in order to ensure an adequate supply of batteries, the BMW Group has increased the purchase of batteries equipped with the fifth-generation eDrive electric drive system from 12 billion euros to more than 20 billion euros.
By 2030, the BMW Group plans to deliver a total of 10 million pure electric vehicles to customers. At that time, the other three brands of the BMW Group will also be fully electrified: the Rolls-Royce brand will complete the electrification of all products; the BMW Motorrad urban mobility series will be fully electrified; and the MINI brand will also move towards full electrification from the early 1930s.
BMW iFACTORY: A new way of production
At the same time, it was mentioned that BMW has also set a new standard for the production network , BMW iFACTORY, which represents BMW's strategic vision for future production. At present, three vehicle plants and one powertrain plant at the Shenyang production base will strictly implement this standard.
In a nutshell, the set of standards will revolve around three themes: lean, green, and digital. Lean refers to high productivity, precision and flexibility; green refers to the use of state-of-the-art technology and circular economy models to maximize the carbon footprint of bicycle production; digitalization means the use of data science and artificial intelligence in production for better real-time development and planning.
It is understood that whether it is the upcoming construction of the Debrecen factory in Hungary or the Munich factory in Germany with a century-old history, it will strictly follow the iFACTORY standard, and this future production model will also allow our consumers to get better products.
Write at the end
Last year, BMW's transformation path has begun to bear fruit, and iX and i4 have achieved good results, which further strengthens BMW's determination. With the upgrading of the factory and the continuous expansion of the lineup of pure electric products, BMW is bound to grab more market share in the luxury new energy market, and we will wait and see whether the goals it has set can be achieved on time.