Hot! BMW AG: What's Next

[Deleted member 25]

And it's very expensive to attend, here at Montreal it's not that much cheaper than F1.

 

[Matski]

And it's very expensive to attend, here at Montreal it's not that much cheaper than F1.

Well, if Montreal GP prices are anything like Silverstone, that is f***ing nuts. Formula 1 isn't even worth that much. The London e-prix is much cheaper than the British Grand Prix.

 

[hovabongZA]

DTM , Le Mans and E formula is a step in the right direction .

Overall I think BMW are getting their mojo back if you were of the opinion that they lost it in the first place ......design , quality and dynamism are on the up and up since the 7er, X1 ,5er and now X3 they are either leaders in this respective class or highly competitive.

I'm extremely happy with what BMW is bringing to the table and looking forward to future products.

 

[Matski]

BMWBlog and BimmerToday are reporting a CS version of the M3 is on the cards for next year, with the same upgrades as the M4 CS received.

Not sure what the source of this rumour is, but I can see it happening.

 

[EnI]

BMW Group announces next step in electrification strategy

25.07.2017 Press Release

MINI E.

Emma Begley

• Flexible vehicle architecture to enable electrification of every model series
• Fully electric MINI confirmed as MINI 3 door variant
• Electric drivetrain Made in Germany, integrated into car in Oxford

Munich. Electrification is one of the central pillars of the BMW Group’s corporate strategy NUMBER ONE > NEXT and the company has announced that all brands and model series can be electrified, with a full-electric or plug-in hybrid drivetrain being offered in addition to the combustion engine option. Additional electrified models will be brought to market in the coming years and beyond 2020, the company’s next generation vehicle architecture will enable further fully-electric vehicles.

Today, the BMW Group announced that the new battery-electric MINI will be a variant of the brand's core 3 door model. This fully electric car will go into production in 2019, increasing the choice of MINI powertrains to include petrol and diesel internal combustion engines, a plug-in hybrid and a battery electric vehicle. The electric MINI’s electric drivetrain will be built at the BMW Group’s e-mobility centre at Plants Dingolfing and Landshut in Bavaria before being integrated into the car at Plant Oxford, which is the main production location for the MINI 3 door model.

Oliver Zipse, BMW AG Management Board member for Production said, “BMW Group Plants Dingolfing and Landshut play a leading role within our global production network as the company’s global competence centre for electric mobility. Our adaptable production system is innovative and able to react rapidly to changing customer demand. If required, we can increase production of electric drivetrain motor components quickly and efficiently, in line with market developments.”

By 2025, the BMW Group expects electrified vehicles to account for between 15-25% of sales. However, factors such as regulation, incentives and charging infrastructure will play a major role in determining the scale of electrification from market to market. In order to react quickly and appropriately to customer demand, the BMW Group has developed a uniquely flexible system across its global production network. In the future, the BMW Group production system will create structures that enable our production facilities to build models with a combustion engine, plug-in hybrid or fully electric drive train at the same time.

The BMW Group currently produces electrified models at ten plants worldwide; since 2013, all the significant elements of the electric drivetrain for these vehicles come from the company’s plants in Dingolfing and Landshut. Dingolfing additionally builds the plug-in hybrid versions of the BMW 5 Series and the BMW 7 Series and from 2021, it will build the BMW i NEXT. The BMW Group has invested a total of more than 100 million euros in electro-mobility at the Dingolfing site to date, with investment continuing as the BMW Group’s range of electrified vehicles further expands.

Electrification of all brands and model series continues

The new, fully-electric MINI is one of a series of electrified models to be launched by the BMW and MINI brands in the coming years. In 2018, the BMW i8 Roadster will become the newest member of the BMW i family. The all-electric BMW X3 has been announced for 2020, and the BMW iNEXT is due in 2021.

Today, the BMW Group offers the widest range of electrified vehicles of any car manufacturer in the world, with nine models already on the market. These range from the full-electric BMW i3 to the company’s newest electrified model, the MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4*, a plug-in hybrid version of the MINI Countryman, which is produced by VDL Nedcar in the Netherlands. The company has committed to selling 100,000 electrified vehicles in 2017 and will have a total of 200,000 electrified vehicles on the roads by the end of the year.

The BMW Group has benefited from its early start on the road to electrification. Indeed, the company’s pioneering, large scale electric vehicle trial began world-wide in 2008 with the MINI E. Learnings from this project played a crucial role in the subsequent development of the BMW i3 and BMW i8, technology pioneers which themselves informed the company’s current range of plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Source: BMW Group

 

[Giannis]

They should produce that ultra-mini concept (was it Rocketman?) as a fully electric city vehicle.

 

[Matski]

They should produce that ultra-mini concept (was it Rocketman?) as a fully electric city vehicle.

T'was indeed the Rocketman...

.. And I think it's gonna be a long, long time 'till we see a production version of that on the streets.

As a dedicated small car electrified platform, with limited market appeal (just look at how much people complain about the i3's range), I think it only makes sense as the next collaboration with Toyota. It's got to be priced competitively and given a normal Mini starts around £14,000.. and that's based on a half a million unit platform, I think the pricing is going to be a tall order.

 

[Giannis]

As a dedicated small car electrified platform, with limited market appeal (just look at how much people complain about the i3's range), I think it only makes sense as the next collaboration with Toyota. It's got to be priced competitively and given a normal Mini starts around £14,000.. and that's based on a half a million unit platform, I think the pricing is going to be a tall order.

I think by now you know that I'm stubborn as @#$%, but the electric car as a mean of commute does make sense. Truth to be told, the only electric car I've ever driven is the Renault Twizzy and it was bloody fun. Sadly, the car I do my commute with needs to have more roles than that, in order to make sense financially for me.

the i3's range

For me, the i3's range is more than enough. It's a small electric car. 170km is enough. If you are to take a longer trip you need a bigger car.

 

[Centurion]

This must be the electrification strategy @EnI has mentioned a few times. Using platforms that enable full electrification is more resource efficient than running an ICE platform an electric one in parallel.

I'm curious to see whether the 5-Series or X3 can be fully electric without compromising boot space.

 

[Matski]

I think by now you know that I'm stubborn as @#$%, but the electric car as a mean of commute does make sense. Truth to be told, the only electric car I've ever driven is the Renault Twizzy and it was bloody fun. Sadly, the car I do my commute with needs to have more roles than that, in order to make sense financially for me.

For me, the i3's range is more than enough. It's a small electric car. 170km is enough. If you are to take a longer trip you need a bigger car.

Couldn't agree more...

But are there enough people out there, with the same opinion, who would and could buy such a car, to justify a bespoke platform - for a ~£15,000 sale?

 

[Giannis]

Couldn't agree more...

View attachment 418104

But are there enough people out there, with the same opinion, who would and could buy such a car, to justify a bespoke platform - for a ~£15,000 sale?

If you can afford two cars, one for inner city commute and a second for everything else, then an electric city car can make sense. If you can afford only one car, or you need two cars, one long distance traveler and a second for everything else, like me, then I think the electric car is not for you.

Personally, I use my Clio for my typical everyday driving routing which consists of an average of 35km of downtown and suburbs roads, some mild off roading, recreational driving, carrying stuff, experimentation in various fields, and occasionally (if it's not too hot or too cold) short trips. I'm using the S60 only for long distance drives.

I doubt an i3 or a Twizzy could fill the Clio's shows.

 

[EnI]

Mind not all markets will be full BEV-exclusive in the mid-term. And until then a highly flexible product mix - within the same Series - is essential. Ranging from purely ICEV to MHEV to PHEV and all to full BEV. So, when certain markets will mature & lean more towards full BEV the production of PHEV will be decreased & consequently the production of BEV will increased - within the same Series - to follow the demand! In the long-term all carmakers will have to introduce their products as full BEVs ... not just special sub-brand models (ala EQ, e-tron, ID etc) or some special cor brand models (ala Nissan Leaf etc). And at any point the transition will be hard & disrupted if there will be no continuous transition. And continuous transition can only be made with highly flexible platforms & flexible product mix (especially within the Series!).

Various simulations have been run by BMW, and the solution with flexible modular platforms that allow various stages of electrification has been proven best. Due to very heterogeneous situation in different markets around the globe - some are more some less ready for the electrified vehicles. Therefore different products have to be offered to cater all the needs in different markets across the globe during different time periods. So, to be able to do that, the supply has to be extremely flexible. Meaning: to production capacities has to be flexible - so, the production process has to flexible. And to achieve the highest degree of flexibility a modular approach is needed which allows continuous transition.

So, expect more hybrid models variants within same Series (with different power outputs - eg. with more / less potent ICE) and several EV variants within same Series (with different mileage & different performance).

Eg. some countries will ban ICE passenger car sales in 2025, some in 2030, some in 2040, some never. So there will be very heterogeneous demand worldwide - for different type of powertrains.

Perhaps it's not the best technical solution - but it's the most flexible one from R&D, production, marketing and sales point of view, and the cheapest one as well - since it does not require parallel production lines. It allows quick answer to change in demand; and it allows price advantage - either offering the product @ lower price or generating much higher profit margin per vehicle @ higher price. Win-win.

And eventually, when ICEVs and PHEVs won't be in demand or in weak demand most / all of production will be able to continuously transition to BEVs ... without bottlenecks, without hiccups in supply.

PS: Volvo is going to use the same strategy ... introducing highly modular flexible platforms that can feature either ICE, PHEV or BEV drivetrian.

Eg. Volvo CMA platform in ICE (1) and BEV (2) edition:

(1)

(2)

So expect a very similar solution based on BMW Group modular platforms (UKL & CLAR) as well. It's not like just putting the battery in the trunk - like the approach known from the previous generation of BEVs. It's much more advanced solution & approach. Allowing different drive trains within same model / series ... no need for special models or sub-brands.

 

[Matski]

"Stay alert to see the rest of this stunning vehicle;
to be revealed in Pebble Beach, August 17th."

 

[Deleted member 25]

Waouw totally unexpected, what could that be ? A convertible 8er concept ?

 

[Matski]

Waouw totally unexpected, what could that be ? A convertible 8er concept ?

That or a Z4 concept perhaps

 

[Betty Swollocks]

It was mentioned in May that the Z4 Concept would be unveiled at Pebble Beach. And the 8er Concept will get its North American premiere too.

"BMW will offer an early glimpse of its next Z4 roadster with the Z4 Concept, which will be shown at the upcoming Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance this August". - 26th May 2017

BMW hopes to replace Z4 before 2020

 

[Deleted member 25]

yeah it's true the shape is more of 2seater roadster than that of big convertible.

 

[Matski]

I can tell from that sketch already that there will be much whinging about concept cars when the production car doesn't have a speedster style double-humps.

 

[Cabasse0]

Teaser of the z4

 

[SCOTT27]

I can tell from that sketch already that there will be much whinging about concept cars when the production car doesn't have a speedster style double-humps.

Rollover hoops.