If selling electric vehicles is a race, then the BMW Group is clearly the winner. At least in Europe. About a quarter of all cars sold on the continent last year did not have a combustion engine. That’s right: one in four vehicles delivered in 2025 was fully electric. Europe is leading the way (pun intended) For the company, the global share of electric vehicles is 18%. On the continent, this figure rose to 25% when sales of electric cars from MINI and Rolls-Royce are taken into account.
The BMW Group’s strategy of offering a diversified range of plug-in hybrids is also working. When EVs and PHEVs are combined, electrified vehicles accounted for more than 40% of European sales last year. Therefore, it is no surprise that the company is confident of meeting the EU’s 2025 CO₂ fleet emissions target.
The last 12 months were strong for BMW and MINI in Europe, where total deliveries rose 7.3% to 1,016,360 units. In the home market of Germany, demand rose by 8.7% to 290,742 vehicles by 2026, when the Neue Klasse will usher in radical model changes. Delivery of the new iX3 will begin in March, ushering in a broader product offensive.
BMW confirms that the next generation of the 3 Series and X5 will be launched later this year and both will offer plug-in hybrid variants. The sedan and SUV also get fully electric versions, sold as the i3 and iX5, respectively. Additionally, the refreshed 7 Series is expected to retain the 750e and M760e plug-in hybrids alongside the all-electric i7 range.
Although the iX4 hasn’t been officially announced yet, spy shots all but confirm that it’s on the way. We learned that it will be launched in 2026 and will go on sale before the end of the year. The real impact of these models will be felt in 2027, their first full year on the market, when they are expected to further increase the share of electric vehicles and PHEVs in BMW Group’s total sales.
The company has set itself an ambitious goal for 2030: to sell every second car without a combustion engine. Whether electric vehicles alone will reach 50% global share by the end of the decade remains to be seen, but the Neue Klasse gives the BMW Group a fighting chance. From a volume perspective, the rumored i1 and i2 are likely to play a useful role. The next-generation iX1 is also expected to increase the overall share of electric vehicles in the company’s sales mix.
Although the BMW Group is pushing forward with electrification, it remains committed to internal combustion engines. She has long opposed an early ICE ban in Europe, and that sustained pressure appears to have paid off. The European Union will allow the sale of new gasoline-powered cars beyond 2035. However, car manufacturers must reduce exhaust emissions by 90% compared to 2021.
