The number of fully EVs it delivers is expected to continue growing by an average of over 20% annually between 2025 and 2030

By RAHIMI YUNUS / Pic BLOOMBERG

BMW Group targets at least 50% of its global deliveries to be all-electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030 in an aggressive push towards a cleaner, digital and circular economy.

The premium German carmaker said the actual figure is likely to vary significantly from one market to another and will depend largely on the progress made in the regional expansion of charging infrastructure.

The group’s third phase of electrification will see a gradual decline in the absolute number of combustion engine vehicles delivered to customers.

By contrast, the number of fully EVs the company delivers is expected to continue growing by an average of over 20% annually between 2025 and 2030.

The entire MINI range is targeted to be fully electric by the early 2030s.

The group is aimed at reducing the carbon emissions generated by its vehicles in the use phase by 40% per kilometre driven by 2030.

“We have a clear roadmap for making the transformation of our industry a real competitive advantage for BMW in the coming years: Uncompromisingly electric, digital and circular,” Oliver Zipse, chairman of the board of management of BMW AG, said in a press conference yesterday.

The carmaker said fully electric models will cover around 90% of current market segments by 2023.

This year, BMW projects operating profit to be significantly higher than in 2020 though the total number of employees is expected to be slightly lower than last year.

It said the automotive segment is forecast to record an increase in the pretax profit margin of between 6% and 8% year-on-year from 2.7% in 2020.

BMW is set to launch the BMW i4 three months ahead of schedule this year.

In terms of digitisation, the BMW Operating System 8 — the most powerful in-vehicle data processing system the group has ever developed — will be installed for the first time in the all-electric BMW iX.

The new operating system makes every BMW a digital powerhouse with the ability to perform over-the-air upgrades.

By the end of 2021, BMW will have the world’s largest fleet of vehicles capable of installing new or upgrading existing functions over the air with over two million units equipped with the new operating system.

In 2020, BMW recorded a lower vehicle volume of 8.4% at 2.33 million units due to worldwide lockdowns lasting several weeks.

However, the group saw the growth was particularly strong in the upper luxury segment, with deliveries up by 12.4% to more than 115,000 vehicles, mainly reflecting the performance of the 7-Series and the 8-Series, as well as that of the BMW X7 in its first full year on the market.

Sales in the segment have soared by over 70% since 2018.