BMW not Planning Mass Production of EVs till 2020

BMW’s CEO Harald Krueger has said that the leading car manufacturer does not have any plans for mass production of EVs till 2020. According to Krueger, the current fourth-generation EV technology is not economically viable enough to make the company opt for volume production. He said that BMW would rather wait for a more cost effect fifth generation EV technology before making plans for the volume production of EVs as companies which plan to be market leaders in a particular segment need to be cost effective.

Krueger said that the difference in cost would amount to a two digit number and BMW will wait till it is in a position to emerge as a leading player in the segment.
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BMW had launched its first EV, the i3, in 2013. In the intervening years, the company has been working on different generations of battery, software and electric motor technology since then.

BMW has already announced plans to start making a full-electric Mini at the company’s plant near Oxford, England in 2019. In 2020, the company plans to commence production of a full-electric X3 SUV in 2020.

Earlier this month, BMW had announced that it would be ramping up its research and development budget to USD 8.6 billion (7 billion euros) as part of its strategy to launch as many as 25 electrified models at the retail level by 2025.

Of these models, half would be fully electric with an all-electric range of up to 700 km (435 miles). Currently, BMW only all-electric model is the i3. The company had recently announced that the production version of the i Vision Dynamics Concept vehicle, the i4 full electric sedan would be positioned as a serious competitor to the Tesla Model S.

BMW has chosen Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) as its partner in China for battery cell production.