BMW’s Labor Chief Touts Electrification

BMW AG must speed pace of electrifying its vehicle lineup, says Manfred Schoch, deputy chair of the company's supervisory board and the company’s top labor representative.

Schoch tells Bloomberg News that failing to quickly add hybrid or all-electric options for its 3, 5 and 7 Series cars would be “detrimental to the business.” He complains that BMW management has been slow to invest in electrification.

The company and rival Daimler AG each forecasts that hybrids, plug-ins and all-electric cars will collectively capture about 25% of its overall sales a decade from now. Such models account for 2% of BMW's volume today.

BMW became the first full-line luxury carmaker to create its own brand for electrified vehicles when it introduced the i3 battery-powered city car three years ago. It added the i8 hybrid supercars in 2014. But sluggish sales prompted management to delay additional projects.

Schoch acknowledges that switching from complex piston engines to vastly simpler electric motors will cut powertrain-related jobs. But he notes that vehicle connectivity and self-driving systems will create jobs in new areas as software and user services.