BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said the companies need to be careful not to become too dependent on a few countries by focusing only on electric vehicles, adding that the market for combustion engine cars continues to exist.
“When you look at the technology coming out, the EV push, we need to be careful because, at the same time, you raise dependency on very few countries,” Zipse said at a roundtable in New York, echoing that the supply of raw materials for batteries was controlled largely by China.
“If someone cannot buy an EV for some reason but requires a car, would you rather propose he continues to drive his old car forever? If you are not selling combustion engines anymore, someone else will,” Zipse added.
Zipse has long advocated against the complete prohibition on combustion engine car sales in the face of increasing pressure from regulators on the automobile industry to reduce its carbon emissions and environmental impact.
Providing more fuel-efficient combustion engine vehicles was important both from a profit perspective and an environmental perspective, Zipse argued, indicating the gaps in charging infrastructure and the high price of electric automobiles.
Companies are also required to plan for energy prices and raw materials to remain high by being more productive in their production and stepping up recycling efforts to keep costs low, Zipse said.
