BMW CEO Oliver Zipse warns that electric cars will never be cheap
2022 BMW iX driving down a curvy road.
Days after unveiling the i Vision Dee Concept EV Sedan at the Consumer Electronic Show, BMW CEO spoke to CNBC about the cost of electric vehicles. Seemingly doing an about-face regarding a previous comment and giving a grim outlook for the future of EVs, Oliver Zipse told reporters, “Electromobility will never be cheap.” Zipse had previously stated BMW would not “abandon affordable vehicles” even as the European luxury automaker is moving toward an all-electric lineup of vehicles.
Front three-quarter rolling shot of a 2023 BMW XM
Zipse told CNBC that even as the production of electric cars increases across the industry, there is no indication that prices will be considered cheap. Zipse pointed out that the overall automotive industry will be tasked with bringing the prices of electric vehicles down. BMW’s lineup of electric vehicles has been in production and sold in various places globally – with none of them carrying a low sticker price. The i3 city car sold t $63,900 in 2014. In Australia, the iX1 sold at a starting price of $82,900.
While some EV models in the U.S. could be considered relatively affordable, Zipse’s comments on the price of EVs are certainly ringing true now.
In the United States, even the Big Three automakers aren’t able to sell their EVs cheaply. The Ford F-150 Lightning EV truck was initially sold for around $40,000 with a standard range battery pack and few frills on the inside of the EV. In late 2022, Ford announced the company would be raising the price of the Lightning EV truck by about $8000, citing rising costs of materials. Raising the price, however, wiped out any savings that consumers might have gotten utilizing the $7,500 EV tax rebate for purchasing an EV from a company that is unionized. Chevrolet has a similar truck EV in the works – its Silverado EV is set to be released in 2024 with a starting MSRP of $39,900.
BMW: Fifty Percent of Global Sales in EVs by 2030
Front three-quarter view of the BMW i7
BMW has never been known as a necessarily affordable option in the automotive landscape with its focus on performance and luxury. Still, if Zipse’s comments ring true, even mainstream EVs could be out of reach for many due to their higher-than-ICE-prices. Still, the Bavarian automaker is all-in on electrification.
BMW debuted its i Vision Dee concept car, which is intended to be a part of the Neue Klasse platform of EVs that will see production for the 2025 automotive year. Dee is compared to the “KITT” car of the 1980s hit television show Knight Rider. Dee is operated by AI software that allows the car to interact with drivers in a multitude of ways. For instance, drivers may change the paint scheme of Dee to fit their whim by using the E-Ink feature. This gives drivers up to 32 different paint patterns that may be changed as often as one likes.
BMW has already announced that the Neue Klasse platform would be utilizing a “next-generation” type of electric battery. The Bavarian automaker says these new batteries are capable of offering up to 30 percent more driving range compared to the current battery packs most automakers (including BMW) utilize. The company also claims that the next-gen battery pack set up will cost “half the price” of current setups. These batteries are expected to be very much like the current battery packs utilized by Tesla – the 4680 battery pack.
BMW has already said that the company intends to see at least half of its global sales come from electric cars as soon as 2030. Considering the push for EVs across the United States and other countries, the goal seems highly attainable. However, cost could be a conundrum for a plethora of customers.
