A BMW board member is concerned that the EU's sales ban on new gas cars from 2035 will have considerable repercussions in the car industry.
  • drolex@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    771·
    3 days ago

    Yes, this is the ultimate objective. Thank you BMW for paying attention. Now maybe start the thing that makes capitalism so thriving, you know, innovation and stuff under market pressure (not wage theft, I insist on that point).

  • macniel@feddit.orgEnglish
    53·
    3 days ago

    And this ban surely came out of nowhere and nobody knew it beforehand and no politicians ever told big automotive about it.

    If you can’t handle it BMW, well too bad.

    • wewbull@feddit.ukEnglish
      21·
      3 days ago

      BMW brought the i3 and i8 to market in 2014 and squandered their lead in EVs for the next decade. They’re crying now because they didn’t follow through then.

      • Overspark@piefed.socialEnglish
        41·
        3 days ago

        As an i3 owner it’s simply wild to me how BMW has squandered their massive lead in EV design. It’s still a better car than most new EV’s out there in many ways (it only weighs about 1.3 tons for example!). And every BMW EV since then has been a massive step back, although the newer generations coming next year might finally be a step in the right direction.

        • madnificent@lemmy.worldEnglish
          21·
          1 day ago

          Amazing driving machines. One of the most fun EVs today, guaranteed to make you smile.

          I had some memorable moments when it was launched. I believe they sold with very little profit. They were not sold through dealers, but from BMW directly. As with any non-metal shell, repairs are hard to come by because of missing expertise. The i3 was also quite expensive for a visually tiny city car. At the time BMW perceived as a somewhat pretentious brand which made the small car feel tiny and untrue with it’s narrow tires which gave off a strange impression to buyers. The steering sticks near centre which can be strange. It was also expensive to buy and people assumed maintenance would be expensive too, as was perceived of other special cars from the brand. We test-drove it (60Ah) and it was a blast to drive, the Model S (85kWh) of the time offered far more range, faster charging, and felt substantially more practical at the time if you had some space to park. The Tesla brand was also on a mission to sustainable driving at the time.

          Flash forward to today and the i3 is what people here are asking for. It’s light with an analogue feel, an absolute joy to drive, it’s frugal on electricity, the battery kept up well because of a great design, and there’s no rust I know of. Sure, it charges slowly, but it quickly ramps up to it’s 50kW max charging speed and doesn’t consume much so it’s great for anything but long-distance travel. The car is connected to the internet (I think always?) but the firmware has been unlocked so we can service it as needed. All buttons operate as you want it and are BMW quality, nice to touch and they’re clear to use.

          You drive one of the most fun affordable and practical EVs you can buy today. Big thumbs up!

    • minimalfootprint@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      161·
      3 days ago

      ICE won’t be banned. They simply are too dirty to reach the required limits. The same people claiming it’s a ban, are telling anyone that regulation will kill innovation.

      If they were able to innovate, they would create an ICE that would be viable. Since they can’t, their opinion is irrelevant.

  • Bosht@lemmy.worldEnglish
    11·
    3 days ago

    They’ve had decades. The world is on fire. Get with the fucking program holy shit. Fuck you, fuck your profits. If your ship sinks at this point it is your own god damned fault.

  • blackn1ght@feddit.ukEnglish
    11·
    3 days ago

    I don’t really see how it’s a problem for BMW. All the manufactures will be in the same boat and the demand for cars will remain. I’d imagine BMW have pretty strong brand loyalty, so even the ardent BMW petrol heads will still end up buying from them anyway. Sure, their ICE division is fucked, but that would have happened anyway, but every other manufacture is also in the same position.

  • lmuel@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    17·
    3 days ago

    Don’t worry, we’ve got that horrible excuse of a chancellor personally lobbying for them now, all is well my petrol powered friends

    Nah seriously fuck that guy, what a fucking shit show

    • drolex@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      1·
      3 days ago

      When you could have Immortan Joe but get Friedrich Merz.

      Yeah, V8, I guess. Somewhat shiny, a bit chrome.

  • BlackAura@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    3 days ago

    Adapt or die?

    The widespread adoption of the CCD killed film cameras. I’m sure there are a small group of film enthusiasts who hate that (in fact I’ve seen videos of people discussing old film rolls and what still works past it’s expiration).

    Why should the electric car be any different?

    If people want to buy them, someone will make them.

    They pollute less (meeting certain mileage requirements over their lifespan), make less noise, require less maintenance (though I recognize replacing a full battery pack is expensive and takes a lot of resources we mine, so more pollution).

    There have been many innovations and improvements since they started to become more mainstream. Further innovation will help reduce pollution from mineables, reduce weight, improve efficiency.