BMW believes that electric car technology does not yet meet the standards of its performance division

Carsten Pries, product manager at BMW, says that electric car technology does not yet meet the standards of the performance division of the Bavarian brand; BMW M.

BMW M product manager Carsten Pries has stated that electric vehicle technology is not yet up to the standard required for use by the high-performance division of the German automaker.

Speaking with several sources at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show, Pries cited battery weight as a key reason why he does not believe they can be used for M models at this time.

“As for the electric future for M cars, it is not easy to predict when it will be ready for us, or good enough for us,” he said. “And we have clearly shown in the past, with technology such as all-wheel drive and turbocharging, that the technology has to qualify for what we aim for with high-performance M models; it has to add to driving dynamics, agility, precision, and then it qualifies for our models. If we look at turbocharging technology, the response times were not considered appropriate for an M performance car, so we stopped using it until we found our own solution.”

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Will we finally see a fully electric BMW M?

“Today, BEVs carry a lot of weight with them, so the technology would be more suitable if the weight of the batteries came down,” Pries added.

The Porsche Taycan was also present at the Los Angeles Auto Show. According to sources consulted, Pries seemed quite impressed by what his rival had produced, but said that BMW M aims to be “proactive rather than reactive” and still does not follow Porsche’s lead in the performance-focused electric vehicle market.

“So yes, we look at Porsche, but the key factor is what we stand for, and we are very interested in motorsport, so the decision to build an electric car would have to fit that image,” he said.

“You have to stay focused because the customer requirements for M are very clear, so we have to find a way for battery technology to support performance and deliver the experience our cars demand, without compromising it.” Taking these statements into account and relating them to those of Markus Flasch, CEO of BMW M, it may be a few years before enthusiasts of the world’s most powerful letter can get behind the wheel of a fully electric BMW M. Will electric car technology meet the high expectations of these drivers?