Although demand for electric vehicles is slowing down, the BMW Group isn’t experiencing this cooldown just yet. Through March 31, 2024, the three automotive brands part of the German conglomerate delivered 82,689 EVs. It’s an increase of 27.9% compared to the first three months of last year. BMW was the driving force behind the sales surge, shipping 78,682 cars without a combustion engine. MINI delivered 3,428 EVs while Rolls-Royce sold 579 Spectre coupes.
Purely electric cars accounted for 13.9% of all BMW Group shipments in Q1 2024 but there’s still plenty of room for growth. The much-hyped wave of Neue Klasse models arriving from 2025 could greatly bolster EV sales. Speaking during a conference call after the quarterly statement, company boss Oliver Zipse hinted at several NK-based cars.
“There is plenty of room between the two vehicles for innovation and new models – and we intend to use it.”
He was talking about extra models beyond the already confirmed iX3 crossover and i3 sedan. The former will go into production next year at the Debrecen plant in Hungary. The latter is going to be assembled starting in 2026 at the factory in Munich, Germany. The head honcho didn’t go into details about the additional vehicles, but we do know at least four are coming by 2028.
What could those other models be? As previously reported, BMW could launch derivatives of the iX3 and i3 with an iX4 and an i3 Touring, respectively. All four are expected to spawn full-fat M hot versions before the end of the decade. In addition, the company has already confirmed it’s working on dedicated models for China, designed locally by the Designworks Shanghai Studio team.
During the same speech, Zipse reiterated Neue Klasse represents “the biggest single investment in the history of the company.” He went on to say NK will be a “massive leap into the future across virtually all fields of technology.” Some of the developments made for the next generation of electric vehicles will rub off onto “all future BMW models,” including those with combustion engines.
Source: BMW
