German luxury motor brand BMW will begin offering a fully electric 5 Series model as part of the company’s larger push to reduce CO2 emissions by 80% per vehicle and increase resource efficiency.
BMW announced on Monday details of its strategic direction and outlined the targets the company has set itself to achieve by 2030. However, maybe the biggest headline from the raft of announcements was the promise of a fully electric 5 Series – part of four different drive train variants the company will be offering for the Series 5, alongside plug-in hybrid, diesel, and petrol.
In ten years, the goal is to have a total of more than seven million electrified BMW Group vehicles on the roads – around two thirds of them with a fully-electric drive train,” the company said in its press announcement on Monday.
“The best vehicles in the world are sustainable,” said BMW board chairOliver Zipse. “That is why premium and sustainability will be even more inextricably linked in the future. We are using our exceptional technological expertise in both hardware and software not only to make these vehicles desirable, but also to help reduce CO2 through them.”
By the end of 2021, BMW plans to offer five fully-electric models – the BMW i3, the MINI Cooper SE, the BMW iX3, the BMW iNEXT, and the BMW i4.
On the horizon is not only the four separate models – including fully electric – BMW 5 Series, but also the upcoming generation of its 7 Series which will include a highly efficient diesel or petrol engine with 48-volt technology, an electrified plug-in hybrid and, for the first time, as a fully-electric battery EV model.
By 2023, BMW plans to have 25 electrified models on the roads, half of which will be fully electric models, and in ten years the company aims to have a total of more than seven million electrified BMW vehicles on the roads – two thirds of which will be fully electric.
There is no official launch date for the fully electric 5 Series, nor the 7 Series, though the latter appears to further along the development chain than the former.
“I firmly believe the fight against climate change and how we use resources will decide the future of our society – and of the BMW Group,” said Zipse. As a premium car company, it is our ambition to lead the way in sustainability. That is why we are taking responsibility here and now and making these issues central to our future strategic direction.
“This new strategic direction will be anchored in all divisions – from administration and purchasing to development and production, all the way to sales. We are taking sustainability to the next level.”
Fully electric vehicles are not the only action BMW is taking to reshape itself as a more sustainable and environmentally friendly company. In addition to the planned fully electric models and its EV targets, BMW will also begin measuring its Board of Management and executive management remuneration bonuses against new sustainability targets.
Additionally, the company has set itself a target to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 80% from 2019 levels by 2030. BMW has already successfully lowered emissions per vehicle produced by over 70% since 2006 and its new ambitious emissions reduction target is a “more ambitious path than the 1.5 degrees goal,” according to the company.
In addition to sourcing 100% of its power from green sources as of this year, BMW Group will also begin to systematically invest in optimising its energy efficiency and digitalisation.
All of BMW’s new goals are based on guidelines recognised by the Science-Based Targets Initiative which the company is also joining, which will also subsequently see BMW begin to incorporate in its targets the CO2 emissions from the production of fuels used by its vehicles.
“We have made a very clear commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement,” said Zipse.
“With this new strategic direction, we are therefore setting a course that is in accordance with the well below two-degrees target. We are not just making abstract statements – we have developed a detailed ten-year plan with annual interim goals for the timeframe up to 2030.
“We will report on our progress every year and measure ourselves against these targets. The compensation of our Board of Management and executive management will also be tied to this.”
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.