Teknikmobil.com – BMW has a new CEO, Oliver Zipse. As the new CEO, Zipse is very likely to continue work, including on electric cars. The German automaker likely has a chance to reclaim lost ground in the electric car market from its competitors. However, there was something strange about his attitude. BMW’s CEO denies competing with Tesla or other new entrants from China, for example.
BMW CEO Denies Competing with New Manufacturers Like Tesla
The strangeness shown by BMW’s new CEO was apparent during a recent interview with Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung . Zipse stated that the electric BMW i3 speculation is not going to die. These electric vehicles will continue to live and be improved in the years to come.
Zipse even dares to say that the i3 is an iconic car today. He said that to become an iconic car it must start from a classic car (internal combustion car). He also said that the i3 is more in demand now than ever. And will make leaps in battery concept and operation.
On another occasion, news outlet Emobly interviewed Zipse about competition with other manufacturers. And Zipse confidently says that “there are no newcomers”. This is proof that Zipse is quite dismissive of manufacturers like Tesla and Rivian, for example.
Of course this is a form of belittling. Tesla for example has emerged as a leader in its own right. As a market leader, it cannot be denied. So the gap between the BMW i3 and Tesla Model 3 is very prominent. Others, for example, include the new electric car company from China BYD and MG SAIC. Both of them have electric car interest which continues to increase to this day.
However, BMW fans should at least be happy that the i3 will still be produced. BMW’s new CEO also believes that the i3 is still a leader in its segment, calling it one of the “most innovative” vehicles in the world.
However, Zipse should be wiser in looking at the competition. It must be admitted that the i3 is a product that has grown in its time. In the electric vehicle segment, this era seems to belong to the Tesla Model 3 and possibly the Volkswagen ID.3 . They offer much more technology and reach at a cost that is much more reasonable for the general public.