Vice president Dirk Hacker confirmed that the company is testing hybrid versions of M cars, but he declined to reveal any specifics about the powertrains. He added, “For now, all I will say is that we are working on a very precise technical solution, but there is no final decision on how to deploy the concept.” He showed concerns about the added weight gain with the hybrid system. “Adding mass to performance cars is never ideal,” he said. “But if we can use electrification to install more performance, then we start to have the answers. That might be more speed, or it might be the ability for a car to be driven on electric power in a city. It might also be the case that we need different answers to that question in different cities.”
He added that the latest generation of electric technology, set to be launched by BMW in 2021, offered engineers more scope. “The better the batteries and the more efficient the electric motors, the better the solutions will be for M,” he said. “We are working on always making better cars.”