BMW announced that it will continue to develop engines for internal combustion engines. This is very different from the competitors who decided to switch to a 100% electric vehicle brand.
BMW's R&D director Frank Weber recently stressed in an interview with the German automotive magazine Automoto & Sport that the engine is still needed. But the new engine is primarily designed to effectively reduce the car's carbon emissions.
"Advanced internal combustion engines are still needed in the future, so we are continuing to develop petrol, diesel, 6- and 8-cylinder engines," he said. ”
Weber believes that not only can the structure of the engine itself be improved, but also through the grafting of hybrid systems. This shows that in the parts with more pollutants such as starting and accelerating, emissions can be suppressed. He added that he found a way to deal with future emissions regulations and designed a new cylinder head structure in the process.
Even taking into account the situation in each country, the internal combustion engine is necessary. Weber said, "There are areas where electric vehicles cannot be used due to weak infrastructure. "Eventually, the era of electric vehicles will come, but as countries move forward, the role of the internal combustion engine will play an important role in this process."
This is similar to Toyota's move, which underscores the importance of hybrids. At last year's Investor Day, Toyota saw hybrids as an effective alternative to carbon neutrality. They argue that the carbon reduction effect of three hybrid vehicles is equivalent to that of one electric vehicle.
"We have no intention of forcing you to choose between a new (electric car) or an old (internal combustion engine)," Webb said. ”
BMW doesn't just focus on internal combustion engines and hybrids. Committed to launching 13 pure electric vehicles by 2023. In addition, in the future, it plans to achieve a cumulative sales of 10 million electric vehicles by 2030 with electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles accounting for 50% of total sales.
At present, in the process of electrification transformation, various brands are very active, among which Jaguar Land Rover announced that it will transform into an electric vehicle brand by 2025. Volvo wants to transform into a luxury brand of electric vehicles in 2030. Among the BBA, Audi plans to stop launching new models with fuel engines in 2026, which is the most aggressive in the BBA.
The transformation of traditional luxury brands into pure electric vehicle brands is not difficult to see the following characteristics, first of all, the more small-scale luxury car brand transformation must be active. Because they themselves are not as good as Mercedes-Benz BMW Audi in the era of fuel vehicles, it is better to lead the next era through positive transformation.
As for traditional luxury brands, like BMW, they are not willing to easily give up their painstaking research and development, and it took hundreds of years to accumulate internal combustion engine technology and reputation.