This will be a big year for BMW, introducing a wholly new platform called Neue Klasse which will underpin a raft of models including what are surely to be a couple of big sellers. This morning in Germany, the brand held its Annual Conference, with suits such as CEO Oliver Zipse and CFO Walter Mertl rambling on about key developments and strategic directions plus whatever buzzword of the day was dropped by Munich.
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We’re interested in the cars, of course – and while we had to wait for details until the presentation’s second half, they certainly got more than a simple passing mention during the call. First, as expected, the Neue Klasse crossover (confirmed by Zipse as the iX3) will ramp up production at BMW’s new plant in Debrecen late this year. After that, the rollout will continue in rapid succession, including a sporty sedan at the core of the BMW brand in 2026. This is most likely the 3-Series EV you read about on these digital pages yesterday.
“We are deliberately starting out in high-volume segments,” said Zipse. “We want our innovations to have a broad impact, not just in niche segments.” Beyond those two, the CEO promised more than 40 new or updated BMW models between now and 2027, suggesting each will have some DNA of the Neue Klasse. Not all on the platform, mind you – but influenced by it in some manner.
Airtime was given to the upcoming Panoramic iDrive tech and the so-called Panoramic Vision which will project content across the full width of the windshield. The guts of the 800-volt EV system promises 20% higher energy density, 30% faster charging and at least 30% more range. Execs are targeting a reduction in the cost of its high voltage batteries by 40–50%.
In terms of the architecture, BMW is claiming efficiencies in physical elements such as wiring, suggesting it has engineered ways to make the harness 30% lighter than the last-gen effort by cutting 600 metres of wiring out of the platform. The brand is so confident it has landed on such a unique approach that it is actually calling it a ‘digital nervous system’ with four ‘superbrains’ (read: computers) doing the heavy lifting in each car.
“Technology openness is the key to BMW’s success. Starting with the first model of the Neue Klasse, we will roll out the technologies of the Neue Klasse across the entire future model portfolio – across all segments and all drivetrains,” said Frank Weber, Board Member for Development at BMW AG. As another example, traditional fuses have been binned, up to 150 per vehicle, and replaced with eFuses to digitally control energy distribution to components.
BMW 2024 sales recap
Speaking to the concept of ‘technology openness’, it was reiterated that internal combustion engines, which remain in high demand worldwide, will continue to play a key role at BMW, though BEVs are expected to remain the main driver of growth. Last year, Munich increased its total BEV sales worldwide to nearly half a million cars (up 13.5 percent from the year prior), representing a sales share of more than 17 percent. Interestingly, the sales of PHEVs and BEVs together was pegged at around 600,000 cars; while not stated explicitly, basic math teaches us that BMW sold about half as many PHEVs as BEVs last year. Overall, one in four BMWs sold last year had some level of electrification. Hydrogen was mentioned, with the first series production vehicle planned for 2028 in collab with Toyota.
Global deliveries in 2024 totalled a shade under 2.5 million units, down 4.0 percent compared to the 2023 calendar year. And if this author is reading the financial statements correctly, a task not his forte, BMW Group net profit in 2024 appears to have fallen by 36.9 percent to 7,678 million euros compared to the 12,165 million euros raked in the prior year.
Outside of product but of no less interest, tariffs got plenty of airtime during the call, with suits addressing the issue and impacts on company bottom line. All on its own, the steel tariffs are expected to have a mid-double-digit million impact as measured in euros, while the twice-delayed Canada/Mexico tariff was estimated in the mid-triple-digit million ballpark, according to CFO Mertl.
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