BMW had resisted pressure from the financial world to invest in a stand-alone EV ‘skateboard’ platform because it believed that genuine EV customer demand could be rather less than predicted and such a dedicated investment could be a dead end.
By developing two multi-fuel platforms – FAAR and CLAR – it believed it could meet demand for hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure-electric vehicles within a single architecture. Jaguar Land Rover had a similar plan with the MLA architecture destined for the next Range Rover.
However, at its recent results meeting, BMW unveiled plans for the ‘Neue Klasse’ EV platform. (The name is taken from the new line of cars produced from 1962 that saved the company from going bust.)
Perhaps it’s no surprise. The wider financial world, and analysts especially, has been unrelenting in its belief that the Tesla approach – expecting a total switch to EVs and the need for a pure-EV platform – is the only direction for car makers.
Arguably, many car manufacturers that weren’t switching to dedicated EV platforms saw valuations and share prices depressed. Perhaps it is not coincidence that JLR and BMW have both announced plans for pure EV platforms in the past few weeks. As ever, however, the consumer will be the ultimate judge of the regulation-driven dash to battery power.
READ MORE
Mini plans Minor revival, new EV hot hatch and larger SUV
Join the debate
Add your comment
@Guilivo
Can't put in links I used: "English Housing Survey HOMES 2010"
"In 2010, 40% of dwellings had use of a garage, 26% had other off street parking, 32% relied on street parking, and 2% of homes had no parking provision whatsoever."
However this tells only part of the story as people with cars tend to like parking them off the road and people without cars are more likely to live in a house without partking.
A PWC study estimated that 84% of cars have access to an off road parking space at home. This doesn't mean all houses with a car have sufficent parking for all their cars.
@TorqueStear, where do you get your figures from? Most people park on the public road.
The embedded carbon cost of a Tesla is basically the same as an equivilent ICE car. Ergo if every car sold tomorrow was an EV it would be a good idea.
People who don't have EV's please stop going on about charging.
85% of cars live at houses with off road parking, home charging satisfies about 95% of the charging those cars will ever do.
The other 15% will be covered by charging at work or supermarkets or even the odd charging station. These charging spots will come into existance organically in the process of satisfying the demand for incedental charging for that 85% of the car population which can make the switch easily.