BMW plans to launch more than 40 new and revised models in the next two years that will help fund a long-term electrification strategy.
At the marque’s annual shareholders meeting held in Munich, BMW chief executive Harald Krueger made it known that the X7, a three-row crossover that will sit above the X5, and the coupe-like crossover X2, which will slot below the X4, will be part of this product offensive.
“We intend to launch more than 40 new and revised models of our three premium brands on the market during 2017 and 2018. The new product offensive began successfully with the launch of the new BMW 5 Series in February, further raising the bar in the business sedan segment,” said Krueger.
BMWs plan to grow profits will be focused on large vehicle and SUV sales. “We would like to grow in the top segments where you earn more money. We are not pushing in the UKL segments,” Krueger added, referring to vehicles such as Mini and BMW 2 series, which are based on the UKL vehicle platform.
BMW spent 5.16 billion euros (R70 billion) on research and development last year, and it intends to invest even more in the next two years.
BMW’ plans to implement technology found in the i3 and i8 electric vehicles into its more mainstream and accessible models.
To do this BMW will create new ‘modules’ (pre-engineered sections of vehicle architecture) and use these to offer scalable battery-electric versions of existing non-electric vehicles.
According to BMW chief financial officer Nicolas Peter, “A successful electrification strategy must be capable of dealing with a range of outcomes, including optimistic or more cautious scenarios. If we manage that, we will be able to reconcile sustainable mobility with sustainable profitability.”