BMW aims to double fully electric vehicle sales in 2021

18 January 2021 - 06:57 By Reuters
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
The all-electric BMW i3. BMW on Friday announced that it wants to double its electric car sales in 2021.
The all-electric BMW i3. BMW on Friday announced that it wants to double its electric car sales in 2021.
Image: Supplied

BMW said on Friday it aims to double its sales of fully electric vehicles this year as the German car maker and rivals race to release new models to comply with CO2 emissions targets and chase market leader Tesla Inc.

BMW also said including plug-in hybrids, it aims for a 50% increase in sales of electrified vehicles versus 2020.

It did not give sales volumes for its fully electric vehicles, but in 2020 data released last Tuesday, BMW said it sold close to 193,000 electrified vehicles - fully electric and plug-in hybrid - last year.

Tesla delivered just under 500,000 vehicles, all fully electric, to customers in 2020.

The BMW Group currently produces 13 electrified models - either fully electric or plug-in hybrid - sold in 74 markets.

BMW said its global EV sales rose 31.8% in 2020 and accounted for 15% of its sales in Europe, helping the company meet its European Union emissions targets for last year.

By 2023, BMW said it would almost double its line-up of electrified vehicles to 25 models, with more than half of them fully electric.

In addition to emissions targets, a growing number of countries will ban the sale of new fossil fuel vehicles starting in 2030, adding pressure on car makers to develop electric vehicles.


subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now