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While much of the auto industry has pivoted hard toward electrification—often with unrealistic timelines and walk-backs—BMW has taken a different road. It never pledged to end combustion engine production and continues to view the internal combustion engine (ICE) as essential to its business. In a recent interview with Automobilwoche, Klaus von Moltke, head of BMW’s Steyr engine plant in Austria, summed it up clearly: “The combustion engine is our foundation and will also finance our future business.”
Last year alone, BMW built 1.2 million engines at Steyr. According to von Moltke, the company is actively developing three- to eight-cylinder engines that comply with the upcoming Euro 7 emissions standards. The message is clear—BMW isn’t abandoning gas or diesel. Instead, it’s refining both to meet future regulatory demands while supporting the transition to electric vehicles (EVs).
Diesel, too, remains part of BMW’s strategy. The company is exploring alternative fuels like HVO100—hydrotreated vegetable oil in pure form—which it claims can cut CO₂ emissions by up to 90% compared to traditional diesel. Beyond environmental gains, HVO100 offers practical benefits like improved cold-start performance and reduced risk of microbial contamination due to its purity. BMW is already using HVO100 in diesel vehicles built in Germany before they’re shipped out.
Despite this continued investment in ICE technology, BMW isn’t ignoring EVs. The Steyr plant is also producing electric motors for the upcoming Neue Klasse models. Pre-production of BMW’s sixth-generation e-motors began about a year ago, and the new iX3 EV is set to debut this September at the IAA Mobility show in Munich. Full production of the iX3 will start later this year in Debrecen, Hungary.
BMW projects that by 2030, half of its global sales will be electric. That’s a bold target considering that EVs made up just 17.4% of BMW Group sales in 2024. In the first quarter of 2025, that number edged up to nearly 19%, signaling steady—if gradual—progress.
Still, BMW is hedging its bets. It’s developing a new gasoline-powered M3 and keeping the V8 alive in the upcoming M5 plug-in hybrid. As von Moltke put it, the company isn’t speculating on whether the EU will actually enforce a 2035 combustion ban. “Our job is to consider all possible scenarios, prepare for each one, and ensure our delivery capability.” In other words, BMW is playing the long game.
