It’s no secret that the automotive world is pushing towards electric mobility and as a result, several manufacturers are starting to streamline their engine line-ups. It has now been revealed that BMW is looking to discontinue several of its engines and not all of them are large in displacement.
Chatting to Automotive News Europe, BMW R&D chief Klaus Froehlich revealed that the regulations on internal combustion engines are getting stricter for a number of regions which means that engines have to be updated annually. Engines that will be soon discontinued are the 1,5-litre three-cylinder turbodiesel mill (not offered in SA) and the quad-turbodiesel 3,0-litre straight-six as its turbocharging system is too expensive and complicated to manufacture. The other four- and six-cylinder mills will remain for at least 20 years while the petrol units will go on for another 30.
What about the large displacement mills? Froehlich says that the 6,6-litre V12 may not have a future given that only a few thousand units of it are produced each year and the added emissions rules makes them more expensive to produce. As for the 4,4-litre V8, it’s also proving to be difficult to create a strong business case for considering that the brand has been able to achieve some impressive power outputs with its twin-turbo straight-six which, together with a plug-in hybrid, could deliver 441 kW.
