Given ongoing investments by semiconductor manufacturers, the semiconductor shortage should be over in a year, the CEO said. “I expect that by the end of next year we will see a largely normal situation.”
Zipse said demand for EVs was very high. “Our i4 is sold out for months, as is the iX.” The i4 is an electric compact executive car and the iX is an electric midsize luxury crossover. Next year, BMW plans to introduce an electric version of its luxury sedan 7 series. “It won’t be any different there,” Zipse said.
The carmaker aims for at least 50 percent of global sales to be fully electric by 2030, but has warned that a lack of charging infrastructure was a major barrier to quicker consumer uptake of electric vehicles.