BMW cutting combustion powertrains in half

Monday, 16 March 2020

BMW will axe up to 50 per cent of its internal combustion engine (ICE) powertrains, starting in 2021.

The news comes from a release from the German carmaker marking the end of the 2019 financial year. Long story short, the BMW Group (which includes BMW motorbikes and four-wheeled vehicles, Mini and Rolls-Royce) saw an increase in revenue, exceeding €100 billion for the first time in its history, but recorded a 29 per cent profit slump.

Buried within the news was the small admission that 'up to 50 per cent of traditional drivetrain variants will be eliminated from 2021 onwards in the transition to creating enhanced, intelligent vehicle architectures – in favour of additional electrified drivetrains.'

High-performance BMW M cars may soon be the only BMWs to offer a combustion-based powertrain.

This comes a couple of months after BMW's R&D boss Klaus Fröhlich told Automotive News Europe that the company will be sticking with ICEs for the next three decades. Four- and six-cylinder turbodiesels will be available for at least 20 years, while the manufacturer's petrol engines will still be kicking in another 30 years.

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Reading between the lines, we would say that ICE options remaining after 2021 will include the various M cars, given the division has just introduced its latest turbocharged straight-six in the X3 and X4 M. We'll see the same engine under the bonnet of the upcoming M3 and M4.

At the same time, while the company did not say which engines would be chopped first, a good bet would be on diesels and the bigger V8 and V12s.

It also pays to mention the powertrain thinning applies to the whole BMW Group, not just the BMW brand. That means Rolls-Royce may see the end of its 6.6-litre twin turbocharged V12 in favour of electric propulsion… although that engine has had its writing on the wall for a while now.

Mini already has the electric Cooper SE on sale overseas (due here around the middle of this year) and BMW itself offers the i3 hatchback, soon to be joined by the electric iX3 SUV. The i8 plug-in hybrid is still around as well but it will cease production in April.

Meanwhile, the recently revealed i4 Concept will closely mirror a production model due for launch in 2021 and there's also the iNext SUV that will likely appear next year as well.

As well as fully electric models, expect the BMW Group to continue rolling out partially electrified powertrains as well. By the end of 2021, the company wants to have more than a million fully electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles on the global roads.

These efforts form part of BMW's intent to reduce CO2 emissions by 20 per cent this year as well as cut more than $13 billion in costs by the end of 2022.