BMW M Boss on the Inevitability of Electric Cars

In an interview with BMW M boss, Frank Van Meel, he confirms the inevitability of electric cars in the future. Some people may still think that the movement towards electric cars may be just a “phase” we will soon overcome. There are also enthusiasts hoping and praying that this will never happen in BMW M to preserve what it stands for. However, the BMW boss already confirmed with Auto Express that it will only be a matter of time before electrification will be part of M.

“It will happen, but the question is when is that going to happen,” Van Meel told AutoExpress. Currently we still have a power to weight issue with electrification which makes that difficult to fit into a motorsports philosophy.”

There are still many things to do before M gets to a fully electric drivetrain in an M3 or M5. Van Meel says that they still need to bridge the gap between the M Division’s current range of vehicles and a fully electric model. To do this, hybrid powertrains will be first introduced to the M lineup. The goal of the hybrid M car will be to increase performance instead of fuel efficiency.

“We already see the stop/start feature coming to M vehicles and the next step is electrification. At the end it will also be pure electric, but it’s going to take some time,” Meel added. “Of course we are in close contact with the Project i group looking into next generation of cell technologies, electric motors, weight and cooling systems to figure when is the right time to make the next step.”

So will there be a BMW i8 M in the future? “That wouldn’t make sense,” Meel told Auto Express. “It’s two different directions. M is about uncompromised motorsport, whereas Project i looks into the future and is uncompromised efficiency.”