BMW Lays Out Its Electric Plans

Exclusive BMW i boss reveals plans for 12 all-electric cars by 2023

- Steve Fowler

BMW bosses have exclusively revealed to Auto Express that an entry-level, electric hatchback based on the 1 Series is in the product plan. And it could be here as early as 2021.

The German firm has outlined an electrification strategy under which 12 fully electric cars and 13 plug-in hybrids will arrive in showrooms in the next four years. BMW is targeting the more premium and more profitable segments initially; the first to arrive will be the iX3 SUV, followed by the i4 saloon and then BMW’s technological flagship, the iNEXT SUV.

However, the head of BMW’s i Division, Robert Irlinger, has now suggested that BMW’s flexible vehicle architectures will allow the firm to explore the option to develop more affordable and smaller electric vehicles. “Even in the front-drive architecture you will see fully electrified cars,” he told us. “You will see electrification in our whole portfolio. We can rework our front-wheel-drive as well as the rear-wheel-drive platforms and both are able to show all technologies – our customers have the power of choice.