Whether we like it or not, cars of the future are going to be electrified and many manufacturers are taking this idea very seriously. BMW for instance, has announced in a recent press release that it will be investing heavily in EV-focused research and innovation.
The planned budget of €7 billion is up from last year’s €6,1 billion investment, with profit from this venture riding on projected global EV sales of 140 000 units this year, and 500 000 in 2019. By 2025 the brand hopes to have 25 different EV and plug-ins that customers can choose from.
To address thew perennial concert surrounding EV operating range, BMW has promised that by 2021 its all-electric vehicles will be able to achieve a range of 700 km, while its plug-in hybrids will maintain a 100 km range on battery power alone.
BMW’s electrified models enjoyed a reasonable degree of success in 2017. Just last year, BMW managed to push 103 080 EV and plug-in hybrid models. This considerable growth is credited to the rise in popularity of EVs in markets such as China.
