BMW Group expects BEVs and high-end models such as the 7 Series, the X7 and Rolls-Royce lineup to be the main growth drivers in 2023.
At the BMW Group Annual Conference 2023 on March 15, the automaker said it forecasts battery-electric vehicles to grow in the high double-digit percentage range, which means BEV sales will almost double this year.
Last year, BMW Group more than doubled its BEV sales to over 215,000 units, delivering more fully electric vehicles to customers than its direct European competitors, specifically Mercedes-Benz and Audi, and "significantly more than the majority of Asian and US new entry players" – excluding Tesla, obviously.
For 2023, the Bavarian automaker expects BEV to make up 15 percent of its overall sales. The company noted that its all-electric models are chosen not only by owners of ICE-powered BMWs, but also by customers from other brands, enabling it to gain market share.
"Substance is convincing — and this is where our models speak for themselves. That is why we are striving for further significant growth in fully-electric vehicles this year and expect them to account for 15% of our total sales."
BMW Group CEO Oliver Zipse
The signs are encouraging, with BMW more than doubling its sales of full-electric vehicles in the first two months of the year compared to the same period of the previous year. The company saw the strongest growth in China, where its BEV sales more than tripled from January through February.
With the launch of the fully electric BMW i5 sedan this year, the carmaker will have a BEV offering in virtually every major segment of its business. The all-electric lineup will grow with BMW iX2 crossover by the end of the year, followed by the i5 Touring wagon variant next year.
These launches will be followed by the much-anticipated Neue Klasse EVs from the second half of 2025, with production to debut at the Debrecen plant in Hungary with a 3 Series-sized sedan.
BMW brand aside, the carmaker will also launch three electric Minis soon – Countryman (early 2024), Cooper (summer 2024), and Aceman (early 2025) – and will kick off deliveries of the Rolls-Royce Spectre this year.
Thanks to all the existing and upcoming models, BMW Group anticipates strong growth in the coming years. In 2024, at least one in five of the company's new cars will have a fully electric drive train; by 2025, every fourth new vehicle delivered should be a BEV, and by 2026, around one in three.
Depending on the market conditions in the second half of the decade, the evolution of raw material prices and their availability, as well as the development pace of the charging infrastructure, BMW Group expects to reach more than 50 percent BEV share well ahead of 2030.
The company aims to exceed a total of 2 million BEVs delivered to customers by 2025 and 10 million by 2030.
