The two identical BMW saloons driven slowly on to a stage in Munich last week were met with confusion from the assembled crowd. Until an executive at the launch event pointed to them individually, it was unclear which car was electric, and which carried a traditional petrol engine.
That is very much by design. Unlike domestic rival Mercedes, which chose a bespoke chassis for the battery-powered version of its flagship S-Class, German carmaker BMW is bucking the industry trend by merely offering different innards — electric, hybrid, or combustion engine — for one of its most popular models, in the hope that elite clients hardly notice the electric transition.
“Customers tend to prefer established concepts,” said chief executive Oliver Zipse. While many wealthy BMW owners “want to drive electric”, he added, “their willingness to accept compromises is very low”.