Have a BMW? Savour it while you can – be it a three cylinder, an inline-six, or a V12 – because we might not be able to get them any more, very soon. As BMW fast tracks its transition to electric, the Bavarian carmaker has now committed to cutting down half of its engine options currently on offer by 2025.
Speaking at the BMW Group investors annual conference last week, CEO Oliver Zipse outlined the company’s plans to trim its engine and drivetrain line-up, in an effort to reduce complexity while only keeping variants that have a demand.
“We are reducing complexity, with fewer variants and fewer drive trains, keeping only those for which there is real demand: About half the current drive train variants will no longer be offered by 2025,” Zipse said.
So, which of the 11 or so engines in BMW’s stable will be cut? No one aside from those within BMW knows for sure, but Zipse comments do give us some pointers. BMWBlog argues that for the most part, enthusiasts need not worry. The inline-six engines will most likely stay for the foreseeable future, alongside the 2.0-litre four-bangers.
The ones most likely to be cut out would be the 1.5-litre three-cylinder units, to be replaced by lower-tuned 2.0-litre four-cylinder engines – if there’s a business case there. Diesel engines will also most likely be cut, especially after the infamous Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal, and the looming threat of the upcoming Euro 7 emissions regulations.
All of these changes relies on BMW’s transition to EVs, which the company targets that more than half of the cars they sell globally being electric by 2030. This year alone, BMW expects to deliver 100,000 EVs to customers, reaching two million by the end of 2025, and 10 million in total over the next decade.
Currently, the entire BMW Group has already launched five EV models – i3 and i3S, iX3, i4, and the Mini Cooper SE. Zipse said that the company will increase the number of pure EVs up to 13 by 2023, calling it the company’s “tipping point”, with “at least one” fully-electric option for customers in 90% of segments, from compact to the ultra-luxury class.
Mini will be the first brand in the group to transition to electric, with Zipse saying the brand will produce its last gas-powered car in 2025. He also said work has begun on an all-electric Rolls-Royce, but gave no further details.
Fortunately for those with petrol running through their veins, the company has previously said that the BMW engines will still have a long life ahead. Just don’t be surprised that there’s some form of hybrid electrification technology tacked onto them.
