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
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