BMW Aims for 20% of Cars Sold by 2023 to Be EVs

In an interview with Augsburger Allegemeine, BMW chief executive Oliver Zipse said that the German firm is aiming for 20 percent of all cars sold to be EVs by 2023, which is a huge jump compared to 8 percent this year. 

“We are significantly increasing the number of electric vehicles. Between 2021 and 2023, we will build a quarter of a million more electric cars than originally planned”, Zipse said.

In order to achieve that, Zipse admitted that BMW will need to step up in terms of putting in a more complete electric car charging infrastructure. “15,000 private and about 1,300 public charging points would have to be put into operation every week as of today. Unfortunately, we are a long way from that.”BMW's most significant EV to date, the BMW iX was launched with a bold and daring campaign a few months back. Featuring the carmaker's 5th gen eDrive powertrain, the dual-motor setup promises to push out at least 500hp, resulting in a century sprint of under 5 seconds. 

The Munich-based car maker says that the BMW iX will have a battery pack with a capacity of over 100kWh - which should mean a range of over 600km based on the WLTP cycle. With a 200kW DC charger, juicing the battery from 10 to 80% should only take 40 minutes, or 120km in about 10 minutes.

In terms of size, BMW says that the iX is similar in size to the X5, with the height of an X6 and the wheelhouse size of an X7. This should be due to the skateboard-style EVE drivetrain layout that allows for more flexibility in terms of packaging. The car’s styling has sharply divided opinions looks - some have even go as far as calling it bland. 

Also in BMW's plan is the BMW Concept i4, a four-door GranCoupe which will go head on with the Tesla Model 3 and other models in the segment. In top spec, the i4 will have 530hp and a century sprint of 4 seconds. Top speed should be well in excess of 200km/h. 

Even with the buck-teeth styling, the BMW Concept i4 looks much pleasing to the eye compared to the recently launched BMW M3 and M4 Competition. Maybe the wheel-grille ratio makes a lot of difference. 

In any case, BMW Malaysia seems to fall in line with Mr. Zipse's plans. As of 2019, 27% of cars sold by BMW Malaysia is an electrified model in the form of PHEV. Not exactly a BEV, but electrified nonetheless. 

If you are a fan of BMW's eDrive drive train, there's a healthy selection of F30 BMW 330e offering great driving fun with fuel economy to boot. If you are in the market for one, they range from RM100-RM150k.