BMW says they're ready for combustion engine ban

BMW claims that by 2030, they will be ready for any type of ban on fossil fuel cars

As the world continues to impose stricter emission regulations, it's no surprise automakers are making the switch to electric vehicles (EVs).

While most car companies continue to offer cars with internal combustion engines, some countries like the UK, and Thailand plan to go fully electric. Meanwhile, brands like Bentley, Mini, Volvo, BMW, Mercedes-Benz are looking to only offer EVs in the coming years.

But in order to fully meet zero-emissions standards, the European Union (EU) proposed an effective ban on fossil fuel cars from 2035. This is aimed to speed up the switch to EVs in the region in order to combat global warming. Could automakers actually make the EU's deadline to ban all fossil fuel-powered vehicles? According to BMW, they're ready.

In a recent conference, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said that they will be ready for any ban on internal combustion engine cars from 2030 onwards.

"We will be ICE-ban ready. If a region, a city, a country gets the idea of banning ICEs, we have an offering. The BMW Group is not worried about this. Whether it's a good idea is another question... but we will have an offering," said Zipse.

Unlike most brands which already put up an exact year in which they will discontinue fossil fuel-powered cars. Jaguar will be the first to make the switch in 2025 while Bentley and Volvo plan to do the same by the end of the decade. Mercedes-Benz also promised to make the transition "but only where market conditions allow it". Then there's Audi who announced that they will end gasoline and diesel car production in 2033, except in China.

Despite not having an exact date, this doesn't mean BMW is not busy developing more zero-emission vehicles. Currently, BMW has the i3, i4, iX, and the iX3 as its offering of EVs. In the future, however, the company plans to introduce electric versions of the X1, 5 Series, and 7 Series. Moreover, fellow BMW Group brand Mini is scheduled to become a fully-electric brand in 2025.

With BMW confident that they're ready for an all-electric future, will they be able to keep up with demand? And will they continue offering support for vehicles that still run on ICEs despite switching to EVs?