Did you know that a total of 177,257 BMW M automobiles were delivered worldwide in 2022 which is an increase of 8.4 percent compared to the previous year.
This is a successful start to the transformation to electric mobility where the BMW i4 M50 was instantly the best-selling BMW M model, followed by the BMW XM which is the first electrified high-performance automobile.
Many die-hard BMW M enthusiasts were very negative when BMW M announced the move towards electrification for M vehicles as the true petrol head was not going to drive a battery powered M vehicle. Looks like a whole new generation of buyers were ready to drive an electric M!
This 5 Series sized sedan was launched in Malaysia in May 2022 for RM430,800 and demand has been encouraging.
“The enthusiasm of the M community for emotionally powerful performance on the road and on the racetrack has carried us through the entire anniversary year,” says Franciscus van Meel, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW M GmbH.
“This is also expressed in a new sales record for BMW M automobiles, which gives us a positive outlook for 2023.”
The BMW i4 M50 is powered by an electric motor on both the front and rear axles, which together generate a maximum output of 544hp and 785Nm of torque. This gives the i4 M50 a 0-100km/h time of just 3.9 seconds but a top speed of just 225km/h.
The perfectly coordinated power delivery of the two e-motors and independent suspension tuning ensure an M-typical driving experience characterised by dynamics, agility and precision, which proved to be a real crowd-puller right from the outset.
Meanwhile, the BMW iX M60, which was the second all-electric performance car from BMW M GmbH made a highly successful debut.
Interestingly, the BMW iX M60 which is a SUV, accelerates from a standstill to 100 km/h in only 3.8 seconds.
The vehement power delivery of its M specific electric drive continues steadily into high load ranges, so that the increase in speed also remains almost constant up to the electronically limited maximum speed of 250 km/h. The range of the BMW iX M60 determined in the WLTP test cycle is up to 566 kilometres.
In case you were wondering, the iX xDrive50 Sport which is the simpler family version, has an output of 523hp and will accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in only 4.6 seconds.
During the course of 2023, BMW M GmbH will continue its product offensive with, among other things, the first electrified high-performance automobile, the BMW XM, and the BMW i7 M70, a BMW M automobile based on the fully electric BMW i7.
The further transformation towards electric mobility has also already been mapped out. In order to be able to include high-performance cars with purely electric drive in the range in the future, BMW M GmbH will intensify the corresponding concept testing in 2023.
The focus will be on an integrated driving dynamics control system and an electric M xDrive all-wheel drive system with four electric motors, which will ensure that the emotionally powerful M feeling reaches an even higher level.
