Information, Tech

How Does BMW Plan to Approach EV Production in the Years Ahead?

Electric vehicles (EVs) are no longer a concept — they’re the present. For BMW, this transformation is a challenge and an opportunity to cement its name and expertise in the world of EVs. What can people expect in the coming years as its innovations continue to drive sustainable mobility forward? 

Current EV Models and Successes

BMW has successfully combined luxury and economic mechanics through its latest EV lineup. The main models are:

  • BMW i4: This compact luxury sedan is the lowest-priced and smallest in the lineup, making it an excellent entry-level model.
  • BMW i5: The midsize i5 offers a sleek and spacious interior.
  • BMW iX: The iX offers an adaptable and luxurious interior, cutting-edge driver assistance systems and
  • BMW i7: A fully electric vehicle featuring an advanced cloud computing system, remarkable performance and a distinct exterior design.

These EVs can travel over 300 miles on a single charge, providing a long driving range. Since releasing its EVs, the company has enjoyed success. It sold 62% more EVs in the first quarter of 2024, suggesting a rising demand for luxurious yet sustainable fleet options. The inclusion of EVs, hybrids and internal combustion cars significantly contributed to the company’s quarterly performance.

Moreover, The New York Times applauded BMW for challenging Tesla’s dominance in the EV industry, noting that the company is likely to survive the transition to EVs because of its strong brand, profit margins and engineering expertise. Its growth is notable, especially as global EV sales have been rising slowly. Unlike Ford and General Motors, BMW has managed to earn profits from its EV line.

As EVs become more common, BMW’s popularity indicates that many buyers value the reputation of traditional brands and are hesitant to try newer ones.

Future Production Plans

BMW’s future production plans are ambitious. In 2026, the BMW Group plant in Munich will manufacture the Neue Klasse sedan. The following year, the factory will produce solely all-electric cars, though it will continue to manufacture models with internal combustion engines at other factories.

The Neue Klasse sedan uses secondary raw materials and features BMW Panoramic Vision, the new iDrive Operating system and various levels of augmented reality to promote a future-forward, highly efficient electric drive.

According to Milan Nedeljković, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Production, this marks the brand’s ability to adapt. He shared his commitment of €650 million to produce only all-electric vehicles in the company’s parent plant from the end of 2027.

Fully Electric by 2030

By 2030, around half of BMW Group’s global deliveries must be fully electric vehicles. Over the next decade, the company aims to put approximately 10 million EVs on the road. According to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, between 2021 and 2025, BMW aims to boost its sales of fully electric models to more than 10 times the number of units sold in 2020.

The significant push for sustainable mobility benefits the environment and fleet operators. A program called the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) incentivizes using clean fuels like hydrogen, electricity, and biofuels by assigning a carbon score to each fuel type. Electricity is one of the lowest carbon intensities, making it an ideal option for generating LCFS credits, which can be used to cover ongoing infrastructure costs.

Sustainability Goals 

BMW aims to reduce its carbon footprint in its supply chains by 20% through green energy usage. It partnered with suppliers that only use green energy to produce its latest battery cells. For example, it only uses aluminum from solar power. By 2030, these two solutions will save around 12.5 tonnes of carbon.

Driving to a Sustainable Future

BMW’s approach to EV production combines a commitment to performance and a significant focus on sustainability. Based on their production and sustainability goals, it’s safe to say that they’re evolving their heritage. The years ahead will be transformative — wait and witness how this company will lead the change.

Car Care, Editorial

Revitalize Your Ride With These 6 Tips for a Fresh BMW Interior

Does your bimmer need a facelift? Older cars could use one to stay fresh and contemporary. Fortunately, you have design options from the steering wheel to the backseats. 

Here are six tips for a revitalized BMW interior.

1. Condition the Leather

Start with the seats you use every time you get in the vehicle. Daily drives and occasional road trips can wear out your seats, especially leather ones. You can get leather in the 5 Series, the X3 and other bimmers because it’s stylish. However, you should condition it to ensure it stays in good condition over time.

Conditioning your seats requires leather cleaner and conditioner. BMW owners should treat the car like their hair, applying cleaner before the conditioner, which you’ll leave to soak in. Then, ensure you clean them afterward to ensure your seats don’t feel greasy.

2. Light up the Seats

If you want a flashy interior, consider adding ambience with lights under the seats. These fixtures are easy to incorporate into your bimmer and come in numerous color options, including rainbow or neon green. While they offer aesthetics, lights under the seats also increase visibility on your floor, so getting in and out of the car at night is more effortless.

This revitalization tactic requires a light kit with interior strips. Most kits contain LED lights because they’re more efficient than their incandescent predecessors. Experts say these fixtures last up to 25 times longer because their energy transfers into visible light.

3. Add Performance Pedals

How can you transform your bimmer into a racecar? The first step in making your bimmer look like a Rally Dakar winner is adding performance pedals. This interior choice upgrades the aesthetics because they look more sporty. If you enjoy tuning your BMW, performance pedals make sense — they feel different on your feet and enhance practicality.

While aesthetics are essential, performance pedals add functionality to your car. Their ergonomic design makes it easier for your feet to control the throttle and brakes. Lightweight pedals make your BMW feel more responsive when you press them. If you get the correct size, they should be easy to install.

White BMW driving down the road

4. Enhance the Smell

When family and friends enter your car, you want them to have a pleasant experience. If there’s a funk, they might not enjoy the smooth ride. Upgrade your BMW’s interior with scents that please the nose and mind. Health experts say smell can elicit emotional responses and affect your well-being, so ensure your car’s aromas are pleasant.

When adding smells, consider the atmosphere you want in the vehicle. Beach lovers may enjoy watery air scents, as professionals say they have widespread appeal while smelling like a new car. Other popular smells for cars include pine, citrus and linen.  If your bimmer is clean, these aromas only enhance the tidiness.

5. Replace the Floor Mats

An underrated part of your BMW’s interior is the floor mats. They endure your shoes each time you step in the car, so imagine how dirty they can get. If your bimmer is older, it might be time to replace the mats and get a fresh start. New ones could better protect your carpet and be less slippery when wet.

Installing the new floor mats should be easy, with no tools required. Most placements have a universal fit, making your swap more manageable. When choosing floor mats, consider the material and practicality you desire. For example, thick mats are more durable but could be more challenging to clean. 

6. Upgrade the Stereo

Your stereo system is integral to the BMW experience. Music, podcasts and phone calls rely on quality speakers and modern technology. Older bimmers might have primitive devices on the dashboard, emphasizing the need for an upgrade.

If your BMW is over two decades old, it might not have Bluetooth capabilities. Start your interior tech update by replacing the head unit. Ensure the device has Bluetooth, USB ports and other features to match your needs. With an infotainment system, you could make your older vehicle feel new when you crank the ignition.

Improving the Interior and Your Bimmer Experience

If you drive daily, you want your driving experience to be comfortable. Improving your car’s aesthetics and enjoyment starts with the interior.

From the seats to the stereo, BMW owners have numerous options when revitalizing their ride. Start with easy replacements before moving to more involved upgrades.

Editorial, Information

4 Insights Into BMW’s Supply Chain — How Do They Do It?

BMW has an innovative reputation for producing high-class luxury vehicles. Much of the German car manufacturing giant’s continued success stems from its ever-evolving and improving supply chain. 

In the years since BMW’s founding in 1916, its supply chain processes have gone from abject simplicity to what you’ll find today — an uber-efficient, complex and expertly optimized process continually providing quality vehicles to consumers worldwide. 

How Does BMW Keep Doing It?

Despite admissions of a short-lived blip in its supply chain, BMW has returned strong again. 

What drives the manufacturer’s quality standards year after year? Since the auto industry’s supply chain issues earlier in the decade, further refining BMW’s smooth and innovative supply chain processes has undoubtedly played a considerable role in its success. 

It’s time to explore BMW’s supply chain in more detail.  

1. Planning the Supply Chain

With BMW’s expert planning and forecasting techniques, production delays are practically nonexistent. Its just-in-time (JIT) production benchmark ensures precise material delivery and finely honed inventory management that improves flexibility while maintaining storage budgets. 

BMW’s ability to foster long and successful partnerships with its suppliers is crucial to planning a seamless supply chain process, which involves forecasting material quality and costs and pinpointing delivery schedules.

2. Considering Key Supply Chain Elements

BMW considers these key components when planning the supply chain, connecting them in a way that guarantees customers receive products of the highest quality and craftsmanship.

Material Sourcing and Supply

Through a preplanned global supplier network, BMW’s experts source only the very best raw materials and components for the production of their vehicles. Each BMW supplier conforms to the company’s reliability, quality and sustainability standards.

Vehicle Manufacturing and Production

With strategically positioned manufacturing facilities worldwide, BMW assigns different models or components to plants specializing in their specific production. This approach substantially reduces waste and promotes manufacturing efficiency.

Company Logistics and Customer Distribution

BMW is logistically sound. A comprehensive network facilitates the prompt transportation and delivery of vehicle parts and finished products from one plant to another — and between distribution hubs and car dealerships. 

3. Using Innovative Supply Chain Technology

BMW’s supply chain operates well due to the technologies it incorporates. The company factors in new, innovative technologies as they appear, meaning that BMW’s decisions are always data-driven and cutting-edge. With digitized methods to simplify supplier collaboration, the supply chain has minimal delays and disruptions.

Among other technologies, BMW incorporates the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain in its supply chain processes. 

The Internet of Things

The German car manufacturer began incorporating IoT during the last decade to assist with global warehousing capabilities. Introducing this technology increased the rate of daily car repairs as BMW immediately improved its logistics to track the location of newly received vehicles. IoT sensors fitted in BMW repair centers more than doubled repair processing. Now, the company uses the technology in its supply chain warehousing process.

Artificial Intelligence 

According to projections, AI’s contribution to supply chain management and logistics will increase at an annual compound growth rate (CAGR) of 45.9% between 2023 and 2032. By this period’s end, it should reach $348.62 billion. 

BMW’s AI innovations, Car2X and AIQX, contribute to this growth with the technologies providing built-in feedback from vehicles in production. After independently finding and reporting assembly faults, these AI tools enable BMW to rectify and manufacture its cars faster.

Blockchain 

In 2019, BMW tested blockchain technology with specific suppliers to improve its supply chain purchasing transparency. The following year, it incorporated the technology to include many other suppliers, which allowed the company and its consumers to trace the ESG compliance of materials and parts.

4. Implementing Sustainability Initiatives

As concerns about environmental protection rose to prominence in the 1970s, BMW adapted its supply chain to include sustainability and eco-friendly initiatives — now firmly entrenched as core values in the company’s corporate philosophy. Its supply chain planning process includes renewable energy source exploration and the responsible, ethical sourcing and validation of raw materials and components. 

Beyond its manufacturing processes and facilities, BMW partakes in social responsibility initiatives and community projects as part of its dedicated focus on sustainability and inspiring positive change within the automotive industry. By incorporating sound sustainability initiatives into its supply chain, BMW is leading the way for other global vehicle manufacturers. 

Keeping Abreast of Change 

As a major player in global automotive manufacturing and production, BMW offers a shining example of supply chain efficiency. By keeping a firm finger on the pulse of the industry, implementing state-of-the-art technologies, and tirelessly advancing environmental initiatives, BMW’s innovative processes ensure the manufacturer will keep doing what it’s done since 1916 — providing a blueprint for lasting success in supply chain management.

The Ultimate BMW Forum