BMW Group will boost its research and development spend on electric mobility in FY2018 by “several hundred million euros”.
Board chairman Harald Kruger told the company’s annual accounts conference that after a spend of more than EUR6bn (US$7.3bn) in 2017, upfront expenditure will increase significantly.
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He said: “Investment will rise by a further high three-digit million euro amount year-on-year, primarily for the ongoing new model initiative as well as continued work on e-mobility and autonomous driving. In absolute terms the amount could reach the EUR7bn mark.”
The scale of the investment reflects the BMW Group’s determination to play a leading role in transforming the mobility sector with its future-oriented ACES programme – Automated, Connected, Electrified and Services.
In 2017 the group delivered more than 100,000 electrified vehicles – all-electric and plug-in hybrid – for the first time in a single year, mainly driven by the performance of the i3. Kruger said the group intends to grow sales of electrified vehicles at least 140,000 in 2018 and is targeting more than half a million units by the end of 2019.
He added: “Our electric mobility strategy is having a positive impact: the broad range of models we now offer enabled us to cut CO2 emissions across our EU fleet yet again in 2017.”
