The CEO reacted to an initiative of the climate summit in Glasgow.
(Photo: dpa)
Munich The BMW Group rejects an early end to the internal combustion engine. The Munich-based automaker will not sign the Glasgow Convention on a quick exit from technology, said CEO Oliver Zipse at the Handelsblatt Auto Summit on Wednesday. “We believe this is harmful to the climate,” said the BMW boss. “A ban does not result in an offer for charging infrastructure.”
Rather, consumers would keep driving their old cars for as long as possible. “We are thinking too briefly here,” said Zipse. The CEO reacted to an initiative of the climate summit in Glasgow. 31 countries, eleven car manufacturers, 38 regions and cities signed a declaration on emission-free vehicles on Wednesday’s “Transportation Day” of the World Climate Conference in Glasgow – and thus ushered in the end of the internal combustion engine.
Germany did not sign the declaration. Among other things, the federal government wants to keep the route open for synthetic fuels that can continue to be used in combustion engines.
Internal combustion engines up to the 1930s
BMW boss Oliver Zipse also sees it that way. A ban on internal combustion engines will mean that “we will not develop a technology that we will still need in 2035,” explained Zipse. Unlike its competitor Audi, for example, who intends to stop developing internal combustion engines in 2026, BMW believes that diesel and gasoline engines can still be sold in the 2030s.
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At the same time, however, the Munich-based company wants to invest massively in electromobility. According to this, a dozen electric models should come onto the market by 2025, and a third of all new cars in Europe should run on electricity. From 2025, the group wants to launch the “New Class”, a new technical basis for the entire range of models that is purely geared towards electromobility.
The IT architecture will also change and, like a smartphone, run over a central system with a few computers. The advantage: The software can be updated and expanded more quickly. This makes service easier, but it also opens up new business models. “Customers can buy or subscribe to new functions,” said Zipse. “By expanding this offer, we see sales potential for digital features and services of up to five billion euros per year in 2030”.
Cooperation in software encouraged
BMW wants to stand out from the competition with service and support. Zipse believes that the car’s operating system, i.e. the codes and programs that are not visible to the customer, could well be shared with other manufacturers.
Such cooperation could save costs for the German automotive industry. “We can very well imagine a cooperation and create interfaces to the suppliers,” said Zipse. This is a great opportunity for European industry.
More: Dozens of governments and companies are planning to phase out combustion engines – but Germany of all places is missing