Scroll via the feedback beneath nearly any BMW publish about an electrical mannequin — particularly one thing Neue Klasse just like the upcoming iX3 — and also you’ll see a well-known refrain: “BMW ought to cease making EVs.” “Keep true to your roots.” “We would like gasoline vehicles.” “Nobody cares about electrical autos.” “Maintain BMW M model pure.”
I get it. Some individuals genuinely love combustion engines. Others stay the place charging infrastructure is unreliable. And plenty of are merely old-school BMW fans who really feel disconnected from the EV period. So, let’s play satan’s advocate. What if BMW truly got here out tomorrow and stated, “We’re finished with electrical vehicles. To any extent further, it’s gasoline solely”?
Let’s unpack what that world may appear like.
1. The Regulatory Brick Wall
Even earlier than market forces kick in, BMW would hit a authorized wall. Europe plans to finish gross sales of latest ICE vehicles by 2035 (although that’s fluid), China is tightening its New Power Car quotas, and the U.S. has ever-stricter fleet emissions limits. With out EVs or hybrids to offset CO₂, BMW would face billions in fines and, in some markets, merely wouldn’t be allowed to promote vehicles. In different phrases, “gasoline solely” isn’t a enterprise mannequin — it’s a countdown to exclusion from key areas. Just like the plug-in hybrid M5 would have been excluded from some markets.
2. Shedding Floor With Clients
An enormous chunk of BMW’s present progress comes from EVs. In 2024, electrical BMW gross sales rose sharply, and Neue Klasse will solely speed up that. Many consumers need each: an M3 or M2 for the weekend, and an electrical SUV for the each day grind. If BMW stopped providing EVs, these clients wouldn’t out of the blue surrender on electrification — they’d simply transfer to Mercedes, Porsche, or Tesla. The outcome? A shrinking buyer base and an getting old demographic.
3. Model Notion: From Innovator to Relic
BMW’s picture has all the time been tied to progress — the corporate that pushed gas injection, turbocharging, carbon fiber, and iDrive earlier than others dared. Strolling away from EVs would undo that story in a single day. To clients, BMW would look much less like an innovator and extra like a model caught prior to now. In a premium market the place consumers worth each efficiency and know-how, showing outdated isn’t only a PR drawback — it’s a gross sales drawback.
4. Falling Behind Technically
Neue Klasse isn’t nearly electrical motors and batteries — it’s the muse for BMW’s subsequent leap in dynamics and intelligence. The “Coronary heart of Pleasure” central laptop coordinates energy supply, traction, and chassis management sooner and extra exactly than any combustion setup may. By ditching EVs, BMW would surrender the very know-how that would redefine what “driving pleasure” means within the subsequent decade.
Staying ICE-only would imply technical stagnation — clinging to yesterday’s instruments whereas opponents transfer the goalposts.
5. A Price and Provide Chain Nightmare
Automakers worldwide are investing billions in batteries, semiconductors, and electrical drivetrains to scale manufacturing and reduce prices. The extra they construct, the cheaper every EV turns into. BMW opting out would imply larger prices per unit, no entry to shared know-how, and reliance on more and more area of interest suppliers for engines, exhaust methods, and emissions elements. That’s a recipe for shrinking margins in a enterprise already beneath strain.
6. Market Share Meltdown
EVs are the fastest-growing a part of the worldwide auto market — and in a number of international locations, they already outsell diesels or plug-in hybrids. If BMW exited that race, it might give up progress markets to rivals and watch its world share erode 12 months after 12 months. It’s not nearly revenue; it’s about visibility and relevance. You possibly can’t be a worldwide premium chief in case you’re lacking from the largest and most dynamic section.
7. Company Fallout and ESG Backlash
The injury wouldn’t cease at shopper notion. In as we speak’s business, sustainability is immediately tied to funding and regulation. A BMW that rejects electrification would face strain from ESG-focused traders, larger borrowing prices, and a possible chill from governments or companions aligning round local weather targets. The headlines wouldn’t be about driving pleasure — they’d be about an organization unwilling to evolve in a world that calls for progress.
8. The “Too Late” Lure
Let’s say BMW stayed ICE-only for a decade, then modified its thoughts. By then, battery tech, software program, and charging ecosystems would have superior dramatically. Rivals can be years forward, manufacturing networks can be locked in, and catching up would value billions. Beginning over from behind is loads tougher — and much costlier — than evolving steadily now.
9. Abandoning the Subsequent Era
Youthful consumers are already rising up with EVs as regular. To them, an organization refusing to innovate feels irrelevant, irrespective of how nice the engines sound. If BMW desires to remain fascinating for many years to come back, it has to talk the identical language as its future clients — one that features sustainability, connectivity, and new driving experiences. Turning away from EVs would silence that dialog fully.
10. The Actual “Keep True to Your Roots”
BMW’s roots aren’t about resisting change; they’re about engineering excellence and the enjoyment of driving. The corporate has reinvented itself many instances — from plane engines to bikes, from carburetors to turbocharging, from analog dashboards to iDrive. EVs are merely the following evolution of that very same mindset.
Refusing to maneuver ahead wouldn’t protect BMW’s identification — it might erase it.
The smarter play is what BMW is already doing: providing selection. Maintain refining combustion engines for markets that also need them, however lead with the Neue Klasse for these able to go electrical. That’s the way you shield heritage and safe the longer term. As a result of if BMW ever actually stated, “No extra EVs,” it wouldn’t be a daring stand for custom. It could be the start of the tip.
