German automaker BMW should be ready in the face of bans on vehicles with internal combustion engines from 2030 onwards as it seeks to diversify its range with new electric vehicle models as governments look to tackle the climate crisis head-on.
BMW logo. Credit: JamesHarrison_ / Flickr (Licence: CC2.0)
BMW is one of many automakers who have pledged to reduce emissions over the coming decades. Credit: JamesHarrison_ / Flickr (Licence: CC2)
Bans on fully-petrol and diesel-powered cars are being mulled by governments and are expected to be in place at some point during the 2030s. The EU recently having proposed a new ban on fossil fuel cars from 2035 onwards, which BMW's CEO Oliver Zipse reveals the company will be more than prepared for at a conference near Stuttgart on September 13.
Read more: EU lays out "Fit for 55" goals to cut carbon emissions
“We will be ICE-ban ready. If a region, a city, a country gets the idea of banning ICEs, we have an offering,” he revealed. “The BMW Group is not worried about this. Whether it’s a good idea is another question… but we will have an offering.”
The UK has already proposed a stricter ban, with petrol and diesel cars being banned from 2030 onwards and fossil-fuel trucks being banned from 2040. Hybrid vehicles will still be permitted after these dates and existing fossil fuel cars will be allowed to see out their natural lives, but with the UK's goal of being carbon-neutral by 2050, it is unlikely this will last forever.
Portugal also proposed a similar ban on combustion engines by 2035 back in January.
Likewise, US President Joe Biden has pledged to make half of the US's cars electric by 2030 - a goal that may be a little too ambitious owing to the semiconductor shortage and slow rate of adoption for electric or hybrid cars in the country.
Petrol bans have also been supported by key figures in the automotive sector.
Hakan Samuelsson, the CEO of Volvo, revealed in December that he supports government bans on patrol vehicles while also expressing admiration for stimulus schemes to support the adoption of electric vehicles.
Unlike other automakers, such as Volkswagen and its subsidiary Audi, and General Motors, BMW has not yet set a date for the cessation of production of vehicles with internal combustion engines.
Read more: BMW to increase emission reduction goals
However, it expects "at least 50%" of its sales to be made up of electric vehicles by 2030, Zipse said, with goals of becoming completely carbon neutral across both its production and on its value chain by 2050.
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