5 years in the past, BMW appeared out of contact. Whereas rivals raced to declare the loss of life of the combustion engine and promised all-electric futures, Munich refused to commit. It sounded timid, even old style. However as we speak, that hesitation seems extra like foresight — as a result of BMW stands out as the solely premium carmaker that really learn the market appropriately.
BMW’s Guess on Each Drivetrain Would possibly Be the Smartest Transfer within the Business
Automakers love certainty. It makes for daring headlines, assured roadmaps, and the sort of PR statements that get repeated for years. During the last half decade, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and GM all declared that the long run was battery-electric and nothing else. Inner combustion was over, hybrids had been irrelevant, and hydrogen was a distraction.
BMW by no means performed alongside. As a substitute of declaring the loss of life of combustion or promising an all-electric lineup, it doubled down on complexity which is so not German. Gasoline and diesel would stay within the portfolio. Plug-in hybrids would keep. EVs would are available a number of flavors and architectures. Hydrogen would stay on. Vary extenders weren’t dominated out. Critics mentioned BMW lacked course. And we had been a few of these critics. In actuality, Munich was making ready for the one certainty that mattered: uncertainty.
The Structure of Flexibility
BMW’s technique isn’t nearly conserving a number of drivetrains alive — it’s about constructing the platforms to help them. That is an strategy we’ve seen because the inception of the BMW i sub-brand.
At one finish, you’ve CLAR, the rear-wheel-drive-based platform that underpins the three Collection, 5 Collection, 7 Collection, and their SUV counterparts. CLAR is versatile sufficient to help combustion, plug-in hybrid, and battery-electric drivetrains. And even hydrogen. It’s the spine of BMW’s present lineup, and it isn’t going wherever. Whilst Neue Klasse arrives, CLAR will proceed to evolve, mixing in expertise from Toyota partnerships for hydrogen and learnings from EV improvement. Crucially, it should additionally function the premise for BMW’s hydrogen venture beginning in 2028, giving the corporate one more drivetrain to supply with out reinventing the wheel.
Then there’s FAAR, the front-wheel-drive structure that carries smaller fashions just like the X1, 1 Collection, and a pair of Collection Lively Tourer. Right here too, BMW retains all choices on the desk: environment friendly gasoline and diesel engines, hybrids, and even entry-level EVs, just like the MINI Countryman SE.
Wanting ahead, the Neue Klasse (NCAR) represents BMW’s devoted EV future. Launching in 2025, it’s constructed from the bottom up for electrification, utilizing sixth-generation batteries with 30% extra vary, 30% sooner charging, and vital effectivity features. Neue Klasse is the place the model’s clean-sheet EVs will stay — modern sedans and crossovers that outline the subsequent decade of BMW design and expertise.
Neue Klasse Is Extra Than EVs Although
However Neue Klasse isn’t restricted to battery-electric drivetrains. BMW is allegedly investigating vary extenders constructed on NCAR, notably for China the place the formulation has discovered stunning success. The truth is, BMW isn’t a stranger to the idea. The BMW i3 with Vary Extender (REx) was a intelligent resolution for a world not but able to rely solely on charging networks. Talking personally, because the editor-in-chief of BMWBLOG, I owned 4 i3s with REx. It was a product that merely made sense on the time — the pure electrical i3 didn’t have the vary for lengthy journeys, and the REx gave it flexibility that clients valued. Taking a look at as we speak’s market in China, it’s straightforward to see why BMW would take into account dusting off that concept and making use of it to the Neue Klasse.
Collectively, these platforms type an interlocking technique: CLAR and FAAR for flexibility throughout combustion and hybrids, Neue Klasse for pure EVs and possibly vary extenders, and hydrogen methods layered on high. It’s an advanced puzzle — and that’s the purpose.
From Skepticism to Vindication
I’ll be trustworthy: a couple of years in the past, even we at BMWBLOG had been skeptical. Like many, we thought the trade’s EV-only narrative made sense. Electrical automobiles felt inevitable, and BMW’s refusal to commit appeared cautious, even timid.
However BMW’s management clearly had a distinct imaginative and prescient — one which balanced electrification with realism. And as we speak, that imaginative and prescient has paid off. Stroll right into a BMW buyer’s storage and also you’re extra prone to see a mixture of ICE and EVs somewhat than a one-size-fits-all resolution. Households run an X5 plug-in hybrid alongside an i4. Fanatics maintain onto an M3 whereas including an iX (I used to be one in every of them) Clients are selecting expertise that matches their life-style, not what the trade advised them they need to need.
BMW anticipated this actuality higher than most.
Why Hedging Issues
Whereas BMW was constructing flexibility, its rivals had been constructing partitions. Volkswagen went all-in on the ID household, solely to reduce manufacturing as demand lagged. Mercedes-Benz pledged to go all-electric by the early 2030s, then quietly admitted that hybrids and combustion would stick round “so long as clients need them.” GM deserted hybrids to chase Tesla, then sheepishly reintroduced them.
The auto trade wished a single resolution. Clients wished decisions.
One other piece of this puzzle is regulation. Over a decade in the past, governments in Europe, the U.S., and Asia have all introduced aggressive EV targets. However deadlines hold shifting, incentives come and go, and political winds change rapidly.
BMW’s multi-path technique insulates it a bit extra from these swings. If regulators push more durable for EVs, Neue Klasse can carry the load. If markets drag their ft, CLAR and FAAR can hold combustion and hybrids flowing. If hydrogen subsidies ramp up — as they’re in Japan, Korea, and elements of Europe — BMW already has manufacturing lined up. This flexibility is much less glamorous than a daring headline, but it surely’s much more resilient in observe.
Defending the Soul of the Model
This strategy additionally safeguards BMW’s DNA. For fanatics, it means M automobiles with inline-sixes and V8s gained’t vanish in a single day. We are going to see a first-ever M3 electrical, however that will likely be adopted by a gasoline model as effectively. For Rolls-Royce, it means the electrical Spectre and future EVs can exist alongside the timeless V12. BMW isn’t forcing heritage apart, however somewhat providing a alternative. And that’s one thing to applaud at this stage.
That stability issues. Mercedes-AMG with out V8 thunder is a troublesome promote. Volkswagen GTI with out gasoline looks like an id disaster. BMW, against this, doesn’t should apologize to purists whereas nonetheless pushing forward with EVs, hydrogen, and hybrids.
By 2028, BMW may have combustion automobiles on CLAR and FAAR, clean-sheet EVs on Neue Klasse, hydrogen gas cells driving on confirmed structure, and vary extenders for markets that demand them. It’s a portfolio that no different premium automaker can match.
