When it comes to electric cars, BMW and Mercedes are under heavy pressure. In addition to Tesla, Chinese manufacturers are also exerting pressure. Now the German manufacturers are retaliating.
Stuttgart/Munich - BMW and Mercedes were once among the pioneers in automotive engineering. In the meantime, however, the technological lead over the international competition has shrunk and, in the opinion of many observers, has become a backlog.
Meanwhile, Tesla has experienced a boom in recent years, which is reflected in global sales and expansion into foreign markets, as well as the share price of Elon Musk's company. But competition isn't just getting fiercer on Tesla's home market in the US. Asian carmakers are also playing an increasingly important role in the global race - and are not afraid to attack the German manufacturers head-on with a flood of electric models in Germany as well.
BMW plans e-car offensive against competition - "Tesla has slowed down"
Now BMW and Mercedes are striking back with their next-generation electric innovations. In addition to a new e-car design, this also applies in particular to the technical platform. At BMW, the IAA Mobility in September 2023 will play a pioneering role. At the home race at the gates of Munich, the Bavarian manufacturer presents a supposedly near-series preview of the "New Class".
Because with the BMW electric car that will then appear, it is not only the look that will change greatly compared to today's models. According to Handelsblatt, the electric drive, the cockpit and the interior design will also be fundamentally redeveloped. The first vehicle of the Munich-based company's new generation of electric cars is scheduled to be launched in 2025 - we are talking about a compact sedan.
BMW is gearing up for the future battle for electric car sales figures, in which rival Tesla currently has a lead in many places. The U.S. manufacturer itself will update its successful Model 3 model next year, reportedly with subtle measures. "Tesla has slowed down a bit in its pace of innovation," Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management (CAM), told Handelsblatt. For German automakers, the time has come to shake the technology backlog to Tesla, he believes. This also applies to Mercedes, which will add an electric counterpart to the coupé-shaped compact class CLA in 2024.
+The BMW M1 and Mercedes 300 SL Coupé are icons of German automotive engineering. Are such times repeatable?
© Sebastian Geisler/Imago
New electric cars from BMW and Mercedes: It's all about fuel consumption and range
Expert Bratzel expects intensified competition between the two German carmakers and Tesla. "At BMW and Mercedes, these two shots now have to be right," explains Bratzel, who sees good chances for this with the two traditional brands. According to him, however, the Americans are (still) leading the way, especially in terms of value creation in terms of cost savings.
BMW and Mercedes apparently want to score points with efficiency: after all, range and consumption are the main arguments for buying an electric car. According to the report, power consumption is to be massively reduced in future model generations. For BMW, a change in battery technology plays a major role here: Instead of the box-shaped energy storage systems used so far, innovative round cells are to be installed in electric cars in the future. The technology is expected to allow the electric cars to charge around 30 percent faster and also increase the range by around 30 percent - BMW project manager Mike Reichelt is quoted as saying by Handelsblatt.
We are talking about greatly reduced consumption values: While a BMW i4 consumes 17 kilowatt hours (WLTP) on paper today, a value of 13 kWh is apparently targeted for the next-generation sedan. This also seems necessary because comparable competitors (Hyundai IONIQ 6, Tesla Model 3, Toyota bZ4X) are already in such regions, according to ADAC - and are likely to be further optimized.
Mercedes has a new ace up its sleeve - power consumption of only 10 kWh per 100 km?
Mercedes' ambitions sound even more ambitious: the electric version of the CLA, which is still planned for 2024, should actually have a standard consumption of ten kilowatt hours, while the ranges are between 650 and 850 km. If this succeeds, this would be an impressive statement, for example, the slightly larger Mercedes EQE currently has a standard consumption of between 16 and 22 kWh per 100 km according to the data sheet.
Interestingly, silicon carbide inverters play a major role in the efficiency pursuit of German high-end carmakers - while rival Tesla is scaling back the use of these semiconductors for cost reasons, according to the report. Although the SiC chips make the production of vehicles more expensive, they are more efficient in terms of transported energy and enable longer ranges. BMW and Mercedes are also apparently planning a radical change in the area of interior with cockpit. "Less is more" is the motto and means a further reduction to monitors with touchscreens and head-up displays. Also important: the function of being able to carry out "over the air" (OTA) updates.
Charging an electric car: These ten get the furthest after 20 minutes
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Tesla produces massively in Brandenburg - BMW and Mercedes under pressure to act
So it will be exciting to see when BMW's "New Class" and Mercedes' electric family, which is being created on a new platform (MMA) (allegedly also with electric variants of the compact GLA, GLB and G-Class series), take on Tesla's modified electric vehicles.
Tesla currently produces around 200,000 electric cars per year in Brandenburg alone, with the target of 500,000. This volume puts pressure on German manufacturers. As a result, BMW's electric model range will continue to grow rapidly after the premiere model in 2025, according to the forecast: six electric models are to be on the market by the end of 2027. The named electric sedan in compact class format is to be followed by an SUV and an electrified station wagon.
Initially, however, the "New Class" will not be produced in Germany, but in the new, state-of-the-art BMW plant in Hungary. As a result, other production sites (Munich, Mexico, USA and China) will also be converted. (PF)
Category list image: © Sebastian Geisler/Imago