BMW will not set an end date for its petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles as it continues to add more electric cars to its line-up.

Senior vice president of BMW brand and product, Bernd Korber, told British publication Autocar the car maker will continue to offer a variety of internal combustion engines (ICE) – meaning petrol or diesel powered – including hybrid models alongside its battery-electric vehicles (EVs).

“For the foreseeable future, we’re into a technology-flexible approach, which is why we planned to build all drivetrains on one production line,” Korber told Autocar.

The comments came as the 2025 BMW X3 SUV was announced with turbo-diesel engines and plug-in hybrids for Europe, and two petrol engines for Australian showrooms – due here early next year.

Korber confirmed 2025 will also see production of BMW’s ‘Neue Klasse’ dedicated electric architecture – underpinning the electric version of the X3, badged iX3, as well as an electric 3 Series – this will not spell the end for existing platforms and ICE powerplants.

Instead, the current ICE platforms will be further developed and engines upgraded to cope with increasing emissions legislation and provide what BMW Blog has described as a strategic ‘safety net’.

“If a market shifts in one direction, we don’t have to close a plant or reduce a shift,” Korber told Autocar. “We just shift to another drivetrain.”

This includes front-wheel, rear-wheel and all-wheel drive configurations available to BMW’s product planners.

The plan mirrors the approach of BMW-owned car maker Mini, where Korber was brand head between 2019 and 2022.

The Mini strategy sees dedicated platforms underpin battery-electric versions with petrol vehicles using heavily revised older underpinnings – such as the recently revealed Cooper S five-door – sold alongside them.

BMW has previously confirmed it will continue to offer petrol power in its high-performance M3 and M4 models alongside an electric version produced by its sporting ‘M Division’.

BMW’s unwillingness to draw a line in the sand may be pragmatic, but bucks the trend of rivals such as Volvo, which will offer only battery-electric cars globally from 2030 – with Australian showrooms going all-electric even earlier in 2026.

German rival Audi remains committed to offering at least one electric model in all ‘core segments’ by 2027 before planning the phasing out of ICE-powered vehicles by 2033.

“What plays out at the moment is our own strategy,” Korber told Autocar.

“For us, it was always clear that development will be very volatile because it’s dependent on regulation and customer needs.

Yet BMW’s approach follows recent electrification strategy changes from several car makers across the globe.

In February 2024, Mercedes-Benz pulled back from its 2021 goal of selling only battery-electric vehicles “where market conditions allow” by 2030.

Mercedes-Benz stated it would ditch the target – suggesting it may be achieved by the end of the next decade – and instead continue to offer petrol and diesel models into the 2030s based on customer demand.

More broadly, Toyota has maintained its ‘multi-pathway approach’ offering a range of powertrain choices, including hybrid, hydrogen fuel-cell and hydrogen combustion engines – as well as battery-electric vehicles.

Like BMW, Toyota will continue to develop ICE where customers demand them.

In January 2024, Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda predicted electric vehicles will only ever account for around 30 per cent of global sales – even if they become more affordable and offer improved battery tech for greater driving range.

In 2023, electric cars made up 18 per cent of global vehicle sales, with the Tesla Model Y SUV the best-selling car in the world – the first electric vehicle to achieve the result.

The Model Y was also the best-selling passenger vehicle among private buyers in Australia in 2023.

Extracted in full from: https://www.drive.com.au/news/bmw-to-continue-petrol-engines-as-safety-net/

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