BMW Invests in Internal Combustion Engines to Offset new Policies

­With a new U.S. president and a dramatic shift in renewable energy policy, BMW appears to be hedging its bets by fortifying its traction with old technologies while preparing for the future – the Munich-based automaker has announced continued investments in gas-powered and hybrid vehicles.

On the one hand, this is none-too-surprising – President Trump has already revoked his predecessor’s 50% EV target, and more crucially, he’s trying to end the EV subsidy, worth up to $7,500.

Needless to say, these policies will cause a monumental shift in the U.S. EV market. One estimate claims they could slash EV sales by up to 27%.

“Turning off the credits would affect a meaningful share of the EV market,” said Joseph Shapiro, a University of California, Berkeley, economist.

So it makes sense that automakers would pump the brakes a bit on their new energy vehicles (NEV), at least through the end of President Trump’s term.

“I think it would be naive to believe that the move towards electrification is a one-way road. It will be a rollercoaster ride,” said BMW board member Jochen Goller.

“This is why we are investing in our combustion engines,” he said. “We are investing in modern plug-in hybrids. And we will continue rolling out electric cars.”

That said, BMW EV sales are on the rise, going up 13.5 percent last year to 426,594 vehicles – even if, like most foreign brands, they haven’t been able to break into the lucrative China market (where only Tesla shows up in top domestic NEV sales).

That’s in stark contrast to the U.S., where top-selling EVs comprise a wide variety of foreign brands, including Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and even BMW (the latter of which is in the top 5 best-selling EV companies).

So with that pillar of BMW’s business dramatically handicapped, it’s no wonder they’re looking towards older but still lucrative automotive technologies.