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Wen | Feng traveled
On March 16, the BMW Group held its 2022 annual financial report meeting. At the annual meeting, CHIPTSE, chairman of the BMW Group, not only reviewed the brilliant performance of the BMW Group in the past fiscal year 2021, but also painted a relaxed picture for the future new energy of the BMW Group.
In terms of earning power, BMW's total revenue, pre-tax profit and net profit in 2021 have all refreshed the BMW Group's historical record. Its total revenue in 2021 reached 111,239 million euros, an increase of 12.4% year-on-year. Profit before tax reached EUR 16.06 billion, up 207.5% year-on-year, and net profit reached EUR 12,463 million, up 223.1% year-on-year.
In terms of new energy vehicle sales, bmw group in 2021 global new energy vehicle sales exceeded 320,000, sales growth of up to 70%, accounting for 13% of the bmw group's total sales, becoming the fastest growing new energy vehicles in the BBA camp. In order to continue this momentum, the BMW Group has formulated its future development strategy for new energy vehicles. So, how does the BMW Group's advantages promote its new energy transformation plan?
In 2025, the helplessness of oil to electricity
Until 2025, BMW will continue to exalt the concept of "right to choose" while providing consumers with three different power models: internal combustion engine, plug-in hybrid and pure electric. In Xiao Lei's view, the "right to choose" that BMW is known as is plainly BMW's "oil to electricity" period.
We can see from the electrified models launched by BMW in the past two years that its pure electric vehicles have obvious traces of "oil to electricity". Take the electric version of the BMW i4 and the fuel version of the BMW 4 Series as an example, the former as a pure electric vehicle, does not have the necessary needs of fuel vehicles such as intake and cooling, but retains the controversial super-large double kidney type grille.
You know, after the pure electrification of the car, the body structure has been greatly simplified. The pure electric platform not only has obvious advantages in the electrical and electronic architecture, safety, endurance and the maneuverability that BMW relies on to survive, but also can quickly launch new cars at a lower cost to seize the market.
As early as 2020, volkswagen group MEB pure electric platform and PPE pure electric platform began to exert force, and Volkswagen and Audi automobile under the Volkswagen group also rely on these two pure electric vehicle platforms to launch pure electric vehicles at an alarming speed, which further proves the advantages and potential of pure electric vehicle special platforms.
For the advantages of the dedicated platform for pure electric vehicles, bmw group is naturally very clear, so why does it have to adopt a backward "oil to electricity" program? In fact, BMW also had to do it. In Xiao Lei's view, BMW is a well-deserved pioneer in the transformation of new energy vehicles among German luxury car brands, but as a forerunner, it has taken a big detour in the transformation.
As early as 2013, BMW has launched two epoch-making products based on the exclusive platform of new energy, i3 and i8. However, the BMW i3 is an expensive hatchback, while the BMW i8 is positioned as a hybrid supercar, and the final sales of both models are not ideal.
After a short test of the water, BMW has repeatedly reiterated that it will no longer build a dedicated platform for pure electric vehicles, but has embarked on the current "oil to electricity" technology route that can take into account fuel, hybrid and pure electric at the same time at low cost. It was not until Tesla's sudden rise and the Volkswagen Group's firm transformation that it reacted to the importance of the exclusive platform for pure electric vehicles for a car company.
However, by the time the prophetic BMW reacted, its new energy vehicle technology was already lagging behind. BMW picked up the pure electric vehicle platform from scratch and began to develop a new Neue Klasse new energy vehicle architecture, and the trial production model based on the platform will not be officially rolled off the production line until 2024 at the earliest.
Prior to this, in order to let consumers remember that BMW was the earliest luxury car brand involved in the field of new energy vehicles, it could only slowly penetrate the new energy vehicle market through the form of "oil to electricity".
In 2025, the beginning of pure electric transformation
In 2024, the trial production model based on BMW's Neue Klasse new energy vehicle architecture will be officially rolled off the production line; by 2025, BMW's first mass production car based on this architecture will be officially mass-produced. This means that BMW's electrification, digitalization and autonomous driving transformation will be moving towards a new milestone. From that moment on, BMW will gradually enter the heyday of electrification, completely getting rid of the embarrassing situation of oil to electricity.
It is understood that the models under the Neue Klasse architecture will adopt a new modular chassis collection, and the modular chassis is divided into two versions. Among them, the higher version may be applied to the SUV model that focuses on the pass rate, while the lower version will be applied to the more maneuverable sedans and station wagons, responsible for carrying out the BMW's advertised control to the end.
It is worth mentioning that it may be because the current "oil to electricity" scheme makes the BMW Group need to bear a high bicycle cost, so it also has a unique insight into cost reduction when developing the Neue Klasse architecture. It is understood that the architecture will use more secondary recycled materials, so that the car is easy to recycle after scrapping, further reducing the cost of bicycle manufacturing.
In addition, the Neue Klasse architecture will also be equipped with BMW's sixth-generation eDrive electric drive system and a new power battery technology, which can not only provide sufficient endurance for the platform model, but also provide sufficient power for future BMW pure electric M series models.
Based on the Neue Klasse structure, which can and may be able to make BMW "turn around serfs and sing" in the field of new energy vehicles, the BMW Group plans to deliver a total of 10 million pure electric vehicles by 2030, increasing the proportion of pure electric vehicles to 50%.
At that time, BMW Group's ultra-luxury car brand Rolls-Royce and BMW BMW Motorrad urban mobility series products will all be purely electrified, and BMW's MINI brand will also move towards full electrification from 2030. According to Chiptzer, by 2030, at least half of BMW's total global sales will be pure electric vehicles.
It is worth mentioning that due to the limitations of the expansion of pure electric vehicles and the serious lack of charging infrastructure in many places, the BMW Group has been reluctant to set a strict deadline for the phasing out of fossil fuel vehicles. However, the staunch advocate of the internal combustion engine still plans to reduce carbon emissions by at least 40% over the entire life cycle of its vehicles from 2019 levels by 2030, and the trump card it uses to reduce emissions is hydrogen.
In 2030, BMW will engage in hydrogen energy
BMW believes that hydrogen fuel cells and will be an important supplement to pure electric vehicles, and it is also another focus of BMW's new energy vehicle technology. So far, the BMW Group has accumulated more than 40 years of experience in the research and development of hydrogen energy power systems, and has more than 20 years of experience in the research and development of hydrogen fuel cell technology.
Julgen Guldner, Head of the HYDROGEN Fuel Cell Technology and Automotive Project at the BMW Group, said: "Hydrogen fuel cell drive systems combine the advantages of both drive systems and are not affected by seasonal variations and outdoor temperatures. It can not only achieve zero-emission travel of pure electric models, but also feel the same as fuel vehicles in terms of use, and long-distance driving only needs a short stay to be full of fuel. ”
Recently, the BMW iX5 Hydrogen hydrogen fuel cell vehicle has made the latest progress, it has been in the Winter Test Center of the BMW Group in Arjeplug, Sweden, it has carried out a rigorous extreme cold endurance test, has now entered the post-research and development stage before mass production, and is expected to be put into small-scale production in the second half of this year.
Interestingly, the drive system on the BMW iX5 Hydrogen integrates hydrogen fuel cell technology with the fifth generation of BMW eDrive electric drive technology. At present, bmw pure electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles in the "oil to electricity" mode are all used in the fifth generation of BMW eDrive electric drive technology.
This means that BMW eDrive electric drive technology can not only be adapted to hybrid vehicles, pure electric vehicles, but also can be installed in BMW's hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. In fact, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are very similar in structure to today's oil-electric hybrid vehicles, so the future BMW's hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are likely to be born through the hybrid "shell".
In the eyes of many people, hybrid technology and extended range electric are only transitional technologies when traditional fuel vehicles transition to pure electric vehicles, but from the perspective of BMW's hydrogen fuel cell vehicle technology route, hybrid technology is by no means a transitional technology. It should be known that oil-electric hybrid can still only play a role in reducing carbon emissions, but hydrogen energy can be absolutely environmentally friendly when used.
summary
From the perspective of BMW's new energy vehicle layout, it missed the best opportunity to develop new energy vehicles. Therefore, BMW can only make a transition by "oil to electricity" before 2025. At the same time, it is also a low-cost test of hydrogen energy battery technology through "oil to electricity".
By 2025-2030, the new new energy vehicle platform will sweep away BMW's past decline in the field of new energy vehicles. However, for BMW, which is "internal combustion engine supreme", its new energy vehicle power system in this period is still not perfect.
Not surprisingly, hydrogen energy vehicle technology and infrastructure layout will be more mature after 2030. At that time, BMW Group, which also has hydrogen fuel cell technology and pure electric vehicle technology, has truly achieved its complete body in the layout of new energy vehicles.