As BMW will get able to debut the following technology of its 7 Collection luxurious sedan in April — and with that, the brand new all-electric i7 — the corporate right now turned the highlight on its total portfolio of electrical vehicles, together with the upcoming iX1, an electrified model of its in style small crossover SUV.
These will be a part of the corporate’s know-how flagship iX and the sporty i4, which it introduced final yr. This, in fact, is all taking place in opposition to the backdrop of the worldwide chip scarcity and total provide chain disaster, in addition to now the conflict in Ukraine.
In a press briefing earlier right now, BMW CTO Frank Weber famous that manufacturing of the i4 will begin in the course of the yr, however for now, that’s actually all we all know. As for the i7, the corporate confirmed a number of teasers at its annual convention this morning, principally highlighting the automobile’s new (and enormous) kidney grille, which is able to certainly get the BMW followers speaking. For the i7, BMW guarantees as much as 305 miles of EPA electrical vary, which is in keeping with everyone’s expectations. However as its flagship sedan, the 7 Collection and particularly the i7 are additionally the place the corporate will debut lots of new tech.
“The 7 Collection isn’t just a product for us. The 7 Collection is a group of our capabilities. It’s what we’re actually capable of do. The i7 will not be solely essentially the most highly effective electrical automobile we are going to do, it has a cinema expertise within the second row, the doorways will open mechanically and shut mechanically — and it has an extended, lengthy record of issues. It has artwork mode, so it has actual digital artwork inside,” Weber mentioned — and he himself needed to snigger a bit in regards to the extravagance of all of it.
Picture Credit: BMW
How BMW is managing the chip scarcity
However these autos, in fact, are more and more advanced when it comes to the tech inside them and, as such, BMW (and everyone else within the enterprise) has been affected by the chip provide disaster. That meant the corporate needed to pause placing touchscreens into a few of its vehicles for some time final yr, for instance. Weber famous that the chip disaster hasn’t modified the corporate’s total EV growth plans.
“It takes us lots of vitality to deal with the challenges of the chip disaster,” he mentioned in right now’s assembly. “We’re actually happy with — as a crew — once you see how we cope with a chip disaster, our manufacturing programs and our provide chain programs are actually versatile and we will react in a short time. This gave us a aggressive edge final yr. We imagine this can even give us a aggressive edge this yr, however we count on that this can proceed for the entire yr.” He famous that the corporate initially thought the provision chain would recuperate by the second half of 2022, however BMW now believes this can proceed all year long. “Like we handled it final yr, we are going to cope with it this yr. Now we have not modified any introduction dates, now we have not modified any quantity assumptions, assumptions on the beginning or rollout due to a chip scarcity,” Weber mentioned.
Likewise, he doesn’t count on the conflict in Ukraine to have an effect on BMW in the long term. However Weber additionally famous that the corporate will get its wiring harnesses from Ukraine, simply as quite a few its rivals, principally for the engine and transmission. Weber famous that this business employs round 20,000 folks in Ukraine, principally within the western a part of the nation. “We don’t simply wish to take away the work there. Now we have duplicated machines as a way to assist us now to construct up these wiring harnesses,” he mentioned, and added that, whereas there are only some BMW engines that fully depend on wiring harnesses at present inbuilt Ukraine, by subsequent week, the corporate will be capable to resume regular manufacturing once more.
Qualcomm partnership
Weber additionally highlighted the corporate’s latest partnership with Qualcomm and Arriver, the corporate’s software program arm for the mobility area. This partnership is much less in regards to the chip scarcity, however it does give BMW extra say within the tech stack for its autonomous driving programs and its infotainment choices. Weber additionally famous that this partnership is an instance of his firm eager about its provide chain in a extra world style nowadays.
“This can be a world financial system, whether or not we prefer it or not. Regional options and never leveraging what’s out there globally can be such a setback for the way we’re used to doing distinctive merchandise, I can virtually not think about going again there. We’re related. And really, I can solely hope that we will return to a few of this and never that, after this has been resolved, everyone thinks now we have to resolve issues inside every area. It would merely not work.”
As for the general transfer to electrical autos, Weber was clear that BMW will not be setting an finish date for combustion engines. Earlier than even considering that, he argued, the charging infrastructure must be in place, along with the inexperienced electrical energy infrastructure to cost these vehicles and a strong circulation of uncooked supplies to construct batteries. BMW needs to ramp down combustion engine know-how and ramp up battery electrical autos.
“The very last thing we would like is — possibly as a result of it appears to be politically applicable — simply to chop off issues won’t work. It’s a must to make it possible for this ramp down and ramp up go hand-in-hand and go easily. These are larger industrial processes and this isn’t nearly single autos,” Weber mentioned. He additionally appeared considerably bullish about hydrogen, however for heavy vans extra so than for private autos, principally due to the burden it will take to place batteries right into a truck with sufficient vary.
