thoughts from the boardroom I
Chris Brownridge. CEO BMW (UK) Ltd.
n normal circumstances at this time of year, much of the automotive world would be gearing up for the Frankfurt Motor Show. It was a biennial event that alternated with the Paris show to highlight all the latest developments and innovations in the motoring sphere. Frankfurt was a huge event, and it wasn’t unusual for those attending the show to cover 10 miles walking between the halls. Despite having launched a plethora of iconic models at Frankfurt, along with numerous innovative concepts, it’s clear to see that since the start of the pandemic there’s less of an appetite for this traditional style of motor show. Thus, this year’s event has relocated to our hometown of Munich as the IAA Mobility 2021 show and will present the latest new models and pioneering technological innovations, giving visitors an overview of premium mobility in its present-day and future forms. Taking place at various locations around the city, the BMW Group will be the largest exhibitor at the IAA and will offer visitors active driving experiences along with insights into development work and discussions on the challenges of the future of mobility. Our sustainability goals will be one of the core elements
8 BMW Car Club Magazine September 2021
of the event and we’re very proud of our commitment to reduce our CO2 emissions by more than 200 million tonnes by 2030. Over the next ten years or so we expect to bring around ten million fully electric vehicles onto the roads and at the vanguard of this will be the new i4 and iX. Naturally enough, these innovative machines will be the stars of the IAA in Munich and an interesting historical footnote is that 30 years ago, in 1991, we presented a fully electric concept in Frankfurt, the E1. Even back then we were committed to exploring alternative powertrains and the E1 was an electric city car with seating for four and a 125mile range. Extensive use of aluminium and plastics in its construction kept its weight down and endowed it with entertaining performance, too. That’s at the heart of our philosophy, sustainability and electromobility shouldn’t impact driving pleasure; the drivetrains of the BMW i4 and the iX might be new, but their driving dynamics are exactly what you would expect from a BMW. Anyone who has sampled an i3 should know that a battery electric vehicle can certainly provide an entertaining driving experience.
I’m a true petrolhead – I guess that’s a term that will have to change over the coming years – and I can’t help but be drawn to mouth-watering machinery such as the recently introduced M3 and M4 Competition or the M5 CS. However, I have recently been fortunate enough to sample pre-production versions of both the i4 and the iX and I may have to alter the object of my desires. They are both hugely rewarding to drive with a traditional BMW feel to the way they perform, and I was genuinely excited by my time behind the wheel. If you had any doubts whether the i4 and iX would feel and drive like ‘proper’ BMWs, I can assure you that typical BMW core attributes clearly run through their DNA. We have strong orders for both the i4 and the iX and I can’t wait to see them out on the road when deliveries start later this year. With our first M car with an electric drivetrain – the 544hp i4 M50 – I’ll be able to have my cake and eat it, a high-performance BMW with zero tailpipe emissions. Change is in the air – not just for motor shows – but for new and exciting mobility solutions, too. If my drives in the i4 and iX are anything to go by we have lots to look forward to.
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