Nicki Shields, Presenter: Good morning everyone and welcome to the 89th Geneva International Motor Show and the biggest year yet for BMW with so many new launches taking place right here, right now.
BMW has millions of fans all over the world, lots watching right now on social media (hello!) and so we decided that customers and fans should also have the chance to make their voice heard at the Geneva International Motor Show. So, under the motto, “Ask the CEO”, online fans and followers have been asking all sorts of questions regarding the future of mobility. And who better to answer those questions, (the clue is in the title), than the CEO himself!
Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG:
Hi Nicki. It’s good to see you.
Nicki Shields: Harald, more than one hundred people posted questions to you and today we’re going to take a look at some of them. Autonomous driving is currently one of the defining topics in the auto industry, and Mikkel would like to know how you will shape the future of autonomous electric vehicles.
Harald Krüger: We are working full speed on these future technologies. We already established an open development platform at our autonomous driving campus near Munich. Last week, we went one step further.
We announced a cooperation with Daimler for a next generation of autonomous driving. We both share the view that customer safety is our absolute top priority.
Nicki Shields: Many people asked: Are you going to rely entirely on electric cars from now on?
Harald Krüger: Our future is definitely electric. We are very proud to be the overall market leader for electrified vehicles in Europe. We will offer electrified cars in all segments.
The very popular BMW X3 is the first model we will offer with three different powertrains: plug-in hybrid, fully-electric, and internal combustion.
Nicki Shields: You have said that you will offer at least 25 electrified models by 2025, including 12 fully-electric, is that right?
Harald Krüger: Yes, absolutely. This year, we are really picking up the pace with the MINI Electric. And for BMW, the iX3 in 2020, then the i4 in 2021, as well as our new innovation leader, the iNEXT. By the end of next year, we will have launched more than ten new and upgraded electrified models.
Nicki Shields: Many of the questions were also about charging infrastructure, including this one from Milan. So what is BMW doing to support and grow this area?
Harald Krüger: A good charging infrastructure is essential and we are involved in many efforts to improve this. One of them is CHARGE NOW. Customers benefit from access to one of the world’s largest and fastest growing public charging networks – with over 100,000 charging points in 25 countries.
Please click here to view the full press release.
SOURCE: BMW Group
