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Chairman says BMW will make 100,000 electric vehicles a year by 2020

We know demand for the BMW i3 has been high, both in the US and Europe. It appears that BMW's crystal ball is showing a steady increase in interest between now and 2020. By that year, according to Norbert Reithofer, chairman of the board of management for BMW AG, the company expects to build 100,000 units a year. That's not quite as EVs many as Tesla is talking about for 2020 (500,000), but it would represent quite an increase from the roughly 20,000 units that the best-selling plug-in vehicles moved in 2013. Reithofer told Automotive News that plug-in vehicle production would steadily increase by 2018 before hitting full stride at the end of the decade. He also made sure to clarify that there was external pressure to make 100,000 EVs a year: "we will be forced to build them in a six digits figure to comply with stricter emission rules." The plug-in electric vehicles are just one part of BMW's effort to reduce emissions. In prepared remarks delivered at the company's annual accounts press conference (available in full below), Reithofer said, "Customer demand [for i3] is exceeding our expectations. ... We believe the electric motor is a future technology for zero-emission driving in urban areas. Battery technology will continue to progress. ... When it comes to emission-free long-distance driving, however, electric cars featuring hydrogen fuel cell technology offer great potential." He didn't say how many fuel cell cars BMW expects to make and sell in 2020, but BMW's collaboration with Daimler and Renault-Nissan is supposed to launch the "world's first affordable, mass-market fuel cell electric vehicles as early as 2017." Statement and presentation by Dr. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Annual Accounts Press Conference 2014 19.03.2014 Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen! The core task of a company is to safeguard its future. This means we must ensure that our products and services are always inspiring our customers. We need to think ahead and continually take our business model to the next level. We also have to remain profitable so we can invest and bring new ideas to life. Our ambition of the BMW Group is: Always to consider the long term in all our planning, to follow our own path successfully, and to be a pioneer in our industry. Our business model is clear: Individual mobility in the premium segment.

More details emerge on hotter BMW i8S coming next year

The BMW i8 recently won the Autoblog Technology of the Year award, and it's going to get even better. In October, Automobile magazine reported that BMW's i brand is working on an i8S that would be stiffer and more powerful, and celebrate the marque's centenary in 2016. At the time, one of two power unit combinations was suggested, either one of them good for more than 500 horsepower. Car magazine has added more info on the coupe said to be called Project M100, saying that in addition to being a birthday gift for BMW, it will also be a going-away statement to current chairman Norbert Reithofer, who is expected to retire in 2016 or 2017. It will also be so thoroughly reworked that there will be plenty of daylight between it and the standard i8: a more integrated carbon fiber and aluminum chassis, a wider range of materials used in the build, a larger luggage bay due to the omission of rear seats, a more aggressive suspension supporting heartier brakes and wider tires, and - perhaps - a different aero and ground-effects package to be visually different and make the most of the alterations. As for that power unit, Car says that the two options mentioned by Automobile are still under consideration, being either a 2.0-liter twin-turbo four-cylinder with 320 horsepower and a 204-hp electric motor, or a 3.0-liter straight six with 480 hp and an electric motor with 109 hp. Either choice gets an integrated starter motor good for another 27 hp, and a total torque number of roughly 520 pound-feet, 100 additional lb-ft than the current car. Word is that it will be shown for the centenary in 2016 then go on sale by the end of 2017.

Is the BMW i8 actually already sold out?

The other day we brought you a report from Reuters, which quoted BMW's global sales chief Ian Robertson as saying that the Bavarian automaker had already sold out the entire year's production run of its new i8. Impressive, sure, but perhaps not all that unusual for a groundbreaking new sportscar from a major automaker, of which only limited quantities are typically built. But is the i8 really sold out?
Our compatriots at Car and Driver chased down the story and report that Robertson's claims aren't exactly accurate. According to C/D, the numbers are based on sales projections, not actual orders taken. So while BMW may build upwards of 1,900 i8 coupes next year and over 5,000 in 2015, and while they're all expected to sell, that doesn't mean that it's too late to get your order in. That is, assuming you have the $135k on hand and don't mind getting just three cylinders back in return.