BMW’s electric automobile future mapped out: 25 pure EVs and hybrids by 2025

BMW is to push ahead with a common platform that will allow it to produce not only additions to its i range of bespoke electric vehicles, but also plug-in hybrid and pure-electric versions of its most popular models, including the 3 Series.
The plan is part of the German manufacturer’s strategy ‘Number One > Next’, which aims to build on the original policies that gave birth to the i and iPerformance ranges. The fresh commitment is expected to deliver 25 electrified BMWs by 2025, 12 of them pure-electric – and within the same timeframe, BMW expects anywhere between 15 and 25 percent of its sales to be electrified.
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At the heart of the plan is a heavily modified version of the BMW CLAR platform. It will make its debut in 2021 under the iNEXT, the flagship i automobile that’s also expected to introduce BMW’s most complete suite of autonomous technologies. The new architecture will sit alongside a modified version of BMW’s UKL1 front-drive platform (as used on the current MINI), called FAAR.
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Unlike the chassis that underpin the i3 and i8, the revamped CLAR and FAAR are fully scalable and usable for either combustion engines, plug-in hybrid powertrains or pure-electric vehicles. They will have two basic formats, with battery height the main differentiating factor: a lower configuration for saloons and coupes, and a higher layout that is designed for SUVs. BMW admits that all vehicles to use the new platform, including conventionally powered models, will sit slightly taller than current automobiles – but insists that most of this will be negated through the use of larger wheels.