BMW aims to sell over 500,000 electric cars in 2024

MUNICH - German carmaker BMW aims to sell over half a million electric cars in 2024, "that would yet again mean significant double-digit growth," chief executive Oliver Zipse told the news magazine Focus, reported dpa news.

In the first nine months of 2023, the Munich-based carmaker delivered 247,000 all-electric vehicles worldwide.

Zipse thinks the EU's plan to ban petrol and diesel cars by 2035 is a mistake.

The first consequence would be higher C02 emissions: "If new, more efficient engines are banned, people will simply drive their old cars for a longer time," said Zipse.

"And if I put all my eggs in one technological basket, prices on the market will rise accordingly. A hard landing like that is in nobody's interest," the BMW chief said.

Furthermore, electricity from coal and gas is not sustainable. Nobody knows "if and when exactly we can secure the supply with renewable energy," he said. "The situation becomes critical when there are bans but no sustainable alternative solutions."

Millions of combustion engines will still be on the road in 2035 anyway. For them to run on clean fuel, openness to technology is necessary, Zipse said. - BERNAMA