Electric M Cars Are Coming, But Not So Soon

Breaking news are here: BMW will start producing hybrid and electric cars in the future.

We’re not sure the fans of M Division will be so thrilled to hear this; after all, M cars are all about driving them manually and having the complete control. Frank van Meel, the BMW M boss, says that the current infrastructure doesn’t allow the M cars which run on batteries:

If you look at electrification technology right now, the weight increase would be too big compared to the increase of performance. The answer for the time being is no, but on the other hand we are looking at what project ‘i’ is doing with new battery technologies and new e-motors, so when we see the advancements in technology are big enough, then the time will be right.

Still, he confirmed that this will happen eventually:

At the end of the road, of course, M vehicles will be electrified. We follow a clear motorsport philosophy about precision, dynamics, agility – drivetrain isn’t the defining factor of what M stands for, it’s just a way of fulfilling our philosophy. So yes, electric drivetrains in the future can also fulfil our philosophy and they will.

What we’re going to see will be something completely different on the market, at least to the today’s standards. The electric M cars won’t try and step on BMW i8’s toes. As van Meel explains:

You can’t marry M and ‘i’ together because i8 is perfect as it is. Although it has batteries, the weight is below 1,500kg and to make that happen you have to make the car exactly to the point. The i8 is the current halo car, it’s the future on the road. I wouldn’t want to ruin this halo effect by trying to make another halo car, so currently it’s not an issue. And from an M perspective, rather than having a flagship and a heap of boats, we’d rather have an armada of high-performance vessels.