April 18, 2022—Oliver Zipse, Chief Executive Officer of BMW, believes that there needs to be some caution in approaching a solely electric vehicle mindset, saying that there will continue to be a market for combustion engine cars well into the future.
According to an article from Reuters, Zipse's perspective on the matter stems from a reluctance for car companies to become too dependent on the select amount of countries who are involved in EV technology and production, including China.
"If someone cannot buy an EV for some reason but needs a car, would you rather propose he continues to drive his old car forever?" Zipse said of new vehicle production, per a quote in the article. "If you are not selling combustion engines anymore, someone else will."
Zipse has long advocated against all-out bans on combustion vehicles, citing that fuel-efficient combustion engine vehicles are good for profit as well as environmental efforts due to unbalanced EV charging access and high price points.
He also says that companies and car manufacturers should plan accordingly for energy prices and raw materials to remain high. He suggests production efficiency and better recycling efforts in order to help keep those costs down.
