Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (
BMW) Chief Executive Officer Norbert Reithofer told his fellow Germans to set aside their infamous fear of the unknown and embrace electric-vehicle technology.
“Germany
is respected and admired the world over for its engineering expertise
and powers of innovation, but ‘German angst’ is also a concept the rest
of the world is familiar with,” Reithofer said today in Munich. “We like
to engage in long and fearful discussions because we Germans tend to
see more problems than opportunities, and it is no different with
electro-mobility.”
BMW aims to get its first electric vehicle --
the i3 city car, which will go on sale later this year -- off to a good
start even as demand for battery-powered cars has disappointed because
of cost and concerns about their range. The car is key for BMW’s image
as the world’s largest luxury-car maker.
To
counter electric-car concerns,
BMW yesterday started a global marketing
campaign to promote its “i” subbrand through print and Internet ads and
a series of nine online videos. The Munich-based manufacturer will also
offer the i3 with an auxiliary engine that kicks in if the battery runs
out of power. The range extender can allow the car to drive over 300
kilometers before needing to recharge, more than double the normal
distance on the battery alone.
“After the hype, we’re now in a phase of disenchantment on electric mobility,” said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany. “In Germany, that’s a good thing because you look at things more pragmatically.”
He
estimates that battery-driven cars will account for just 2 percent to 3
percent of the global car market in 2020, while hybrid vehicles account
for about 12 percent.
BMW, which was holding its annual
shareholders meeting today in Munich, stuck to its goal of setting a
sales record for the third consecutive year with the 4-Series coupe set
to help offset a slump in Europe.
The share rose
as much as 2 percent to 73.49 euros and were up 1.5 percent at 3:12
p.m. in Frankfurt trading. The stock has been essentially unchanged this
year, keeping the company’s valuation at 47 billion euros ($61
billion).
BMW forecasts that rising demand in China
and the U.S. and 11 new models in 2013, including the i3 and coupe-like
3-Series GT, will ward off the effects of the sovereign-debt crisis on
Europe’s car market, which is sliding to a 20-year low.
In an effort to maintain its edge,
BMW will
roll out 25 new models by the end of next year, with 10 of them having
no predecessor.
Courtesy of Bloomberg.com
