Despite the global corona crisis, BMW looks ahead to its future investments. The brand is fully committed to research and development. The new generation 7 series is briefly cited.
According to BMW, new technologies are essential for the future of mobility. Until 2025, the manufacturer plans to invest more than € 30 billion in research into these new technologies. “Companies that are able to develop and combine hardware and software equally will shape the future of the car,” said Oliver Zipse, chairman of BMW’s board of directors.
These investments are reflected, among other things, in the growing portfolio of electric cars. In addition to the current i3 and Mini Cooper SE, production of the electric iX3 will start this year. This is done in Shenyang, China. The BMW iNext and i4 will follow in 2021, both of which will be built in different German factories. New is the announcement of the next electric model: the next generation 7-series will get a fully electric drivetrain! The flagship will be available with four different drivelines: as diesel, petrol, plug-in and with only an electric motor. By 2023, BMW’s portfolio will have 25 electrified models, half of which are fully electric.
BMW is also looking at how to save money. This is being looked into with its own “Next program”. This program is expected to save € 12 billion by the end of 2022. Then, for example, we looked at the development of even faster digital processes, which would reduce the development time of new cars. This time would be shortened by a third.
In addition to looking ahead to 2025, BMW also looks back briefly. The electric Next program will be further discussed, along with the fact that some 46,000 employees have received training in electric mobility in the past eight years. Partly due to the creation of the Critical Techworks IT joint venture, BMW has become one of Germany’s largest IT employers.
Of course, the current state of emergency has also been cited. “Solidarity and responsible actions are now the most important thing,” said Zipse. The brand says it wants to use its wide range of resources as flexibly as possible in the near future.