BMW shows the first electric car in its “New Class” – and attacks competitor Tesla

2023-09-04 11:37:00

Presentation at the IAA BMW shows the first electric car in its “New Class” – and attacks competitor Tesla

Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design, presents the “New Class” from BMW at the IAA Motor Show in Munich

© dpa | Uwe Lein / Picture Alliance

Before the start of the IAA in Munich, BMW presented a new platform for electric cars. With the “New Class”, the Munich car manufacturer promises its customers a huge technological leap in software and 30 percent more range. It’s also an attack on its biggest competitor, Tesla.

At the IAA in Munich, BMW is showing a near-series car in its all-electric “New Class” for the first time, which will be launched in 2025. CEO Oliver Zipse said at the preliminary premiere on Saturday that the range and charging speed are 30 percent better than those of today’s Stromer. The entire vehicle architecture is now fully geared towards electric drives, and because the expansion and recycling of all components is already planned during development, the Cars also more environmentally friendly.

BMW does not generally earn less money with its electric cars than with its petrol and diesel cars, said Zipse. Production is more expensive, the costs are higher – but “the assumption that combustion engines are always more profitable than electric cars is completely wrong,” he said. “Today we make money with every electric car, and that will be even more the case with the new class. It will be very profitable.” With modular software for drive, chassis, vehicle electrical system and driver assistance, for example, the new generation of vehicles saves wiring harnesses, weight and money.

SUV model should make the beginning of the “New Class”.

As a vision vehicle, BMW did not present a sports terrain model (SUV), but a mid-size sedan the size of today’s 3 Series. The first model of the new class will be an SUV from the new BMW plant in Debrecen, Hungary, at the end of 2025. The second model will be launched at the main plant in Munich at almost the same time in early 2026, and then other cars based on this architecture will quickly follow, Zipse said. A smaller BMW is also planned.

BMW wants to determine the purchase price for the cars shortly before the start of series production. “We will not price ourselves out of the market,” said Zipse. There is currently a price war in China in particular, with many new car manufacturers and cheap e-vehicles. In the premium segment, the price pressure is less noticeable, as the rules of the game are different. In China, BMW sales grew by four percent in the first half of the year. Tesla is exiting the premium segment and going into the volume segment, Zipse said. BMW, on the other hand, is keeping its prices and its market share.

BMW wants to gradually increase sales of electric cars

BMW wants to sell 15 percent of its cars with electric drives this year, and by 2026 it should be 33 percent. The timing for the start of the “New Class” in 2025 was “perfect” because the industry is about to take a leap in technology, said Zipse. The battery is making a giant leap, and the demand for electric cars will increase significantly in the middle of the decade.

However, the demand for combustion engines will remain very high worldwide for a long time. In contrast to pure e-car manufacturers, BMW can also meet this demand and will continue to grow, said Zipse.

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Chinese vehicles in the eyes of German car manufacturers

Several Chinese car manufacturers are showing their e-vehicles at the IAA for the first time. At the fair on Wednesday, Zipse will speak at a forum with the CEOs of the Chinese car manufacturers Saic, BYD, Chonquing and Nio, as well as the CEOs of Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, Ola Källenius and Oliver Blume.

It remains to be seen whether the Chinese automakers will gain a foothold in Europe like the Japanese did in the 1970s and the South Koreans afterwards, Zipse said. But they have a cost advantage and are very strong when it comes to software. The basic segment may no longer be served by European manufacturers with electric cars. But “a BMW drives differently than a Chinese vehicle. It’s not that easy to reach the top of this industry,” said Zipse. The Chinese manufacturers would have to build brands, sales and service networks. They have the potential to price aggressively, but are not currently doing so.

In Munich, the BMW vision vehicle of the new class can be seen from Tuesday on the freely accessible IAA areas in the city center. BMW had once used the term New Class for the compact BMW 1500 sedan, which was presented at the IAA in 1961 and saved the company from skidding at the time. At BMW, the term now stands for the Group’s transition to electromobility, digitization and the circular economy.

nk DPA