BMW Says Europe's Gas Engine Ban 'Can Kill an Industry'

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motor1: BMW watched from the sidelines as Audi, Porsche, Mercedes, Volvo, and others announced lofty EV goals a few years ago, only to backtrack in recent months. Munich never vowed to go fully electric within a set timeframe, instead preferring to give customers the freedom of choice. It projects demand will be evenly split between gas and electric cars by 2030, but Bavaria hasn't committed to a combustion-free future. The company maintains its desire to give people what they want rather than artificially restricting powertrains to EVs, as the European Union plans for 2035. In an interview with Australian magazine CarExpert, Chief Technology Officer Joachim Post argued it should ultimately come down to buyers, not the EU: 'Finally, the customer decides.'

Provided the ban takes effect in a little over nine years, the board member fears it could have massive repercussions: 'If the European Commission is going to say they have a plan to cut the combustion engine in 2035, they're not asking the customers and how [EV charging] infrastructure is coming up, how the energy prices are and all the things there. It's stupid to do that in that way. And you can kill an industry doing it that way.'

His concerns are echoed by Mercedes CEO Ola Kallenius, who recently warned the European car industry is 'heading at full speed against a wall' and could even 'collapse' if the EU doesn't reconsider. The statement came shortly after Stuttgart's boss admitted the company had to make a 'course correction' to keep combustion engines longer than initially planned. Mercedes continues to invest in conventional powertrains, and there's even a completely new V-8 from AMG on the way. The report notes that BMW continues to generate strong profits from its combustion engines, ranging from three-, four-, six-, and eight-cyclinder engines to a Rolls-Royce V-12 -- even supplying rivals like Toyota and possibly soon Mercedes.

In fact, the 'M' in BMW stands for 'Motoren' (German for 'engine').

Read more of this story at Slashdot.