BMW Executive States “Combustion Engines Will Always Exist. Always!” | Carscoops

      BMW’s sales director asserts that traditional powertrain technologies have a long future ahead of them.

      A senior official from BMW has informed reporters that combustion engines will not vanish.

      Jochen Goller’s remarks were later moderated by BMW's press team.

      BMW stated that Goller was referring to the varying rates at which markets evolve.

      It is now clear that combustion engines will not be entirely eliminated from automakers' European offerings by 2035, as previously feared, since some hybrids will remain. According to one high-ranking BMW official, internal combustion engines (ICE) have not merely received a 10-year extension; they are here to stay.

      "ICE and combustion engines will never disappear. Never!" stated Jochen Goller, BMW’s head of customer, brand, and sales, during a recent roundtable at the Munich Motor Show. This event is also where BMW presented the electric iX3, the first of the Neue Klasse models that will steer the brand forward for the next decade and beyond.

      Was Goller Serious?

      Was Goller being serious? Clearly, he did not imply that gasoline engines would still be in use when cars start flying, and humanity has perfected teleportation (with BMW’s version delivering optimal teleportation experiences) and half of us are residing on Mars. No rational person would believe that. But was he indicating that combustion engines might still exist 40, 50, or even 60 years from now?

      BMW’s press team quickly sought to dial back any enthusiasm regarding Goller’s bold pro-petrol comments. According to AMS magazine, a BMW representative clarified that the statements were made in a “humorous context,” emphasizing that the sales chief aimed to illustrate the significantly varied adoption rates of new drive technologies across different countries and regions.

      The Numbers Tell the Story

      Regrettably for those of us in Europe and the US, that adoption is occurring at a faster pace than in some other regions, albeit not always as quickly as BMW had hoped. Electric vehicles now represent one-fifth of all new car sales in Europe, and while their market share is smaller in the US, mass acceptance (possibly spurred by regulatory changes) is anticipated to occur sooner there than in places like India or certain remote areas of Africa or Asia.

      The positive news for those of us in the West who are not inclined to relocate to Chad to avoid purchasing an EV from our BMW dealer is that BMW appears committed to a multi-energy strategy globally, at least for the foreseeable future. The company’s older CLAR platform is being refreshed to ensure that combustion and hybrid models, like the new X7 captured in the spy shot below, will coexist with the Neue Klasse EVs.

      A Multi-Platform Future

      Autocar India, which was the first to report Goller’s statements, claims that BMW will eventually introduce three platforms: the Neue Klasse for electric vehicles, a new multi-energy version for hybrids (and likely hydrogen), and a basic platform for entry-level ICE vehicles.

      So, will combustion engines ever become obsolete? They will eventually, but with the support of hybrid technologies, consumer demand, and possibly e-fuels, they likely have several years of viability ahead of them.