BMW M isn’t developing electric performance cars simply because regulations are forcing its hand. According to division boss Frank van Meel, the company genuinely believes electric power can produce a faster and potentially better M car, provided BMW can develop one on its own terms.
Speaking with Motor1 during Monterey Car Week, van Meel discussed the division’s electric future alongside the M Concept Neue Klasse, which previews BMW M’s first generation of fully electric high-performance models. Rather than treating electrification as an obligation, he described it as another opportunity to create cars worthy of the M badge.
“We are not doing this because it has to be done, but because we are convinced you can build a fast and even better car this way,” van Meel told Motor1. He added that BMW M would only pursue the idea when the technology allowed the division to execute it exactly as intended.
That doesn’t mean BMW M is abandoning combustion engines or expecting every enthusiast to embrace an EV. Van Meel confirmed that the division remains committed to its inline-six and V8 engines, which are being prepared to comply with Euro 7 emissions standards.
BMW M Wants To Give Customers A Choice
Van Meel acknowledged that BMW M pays close attention to feedback from customers, dealers, clubs, and its enthusiast community. The company knows some buyers remain skeptical of electric performance cars, while others are interested enough to give one a chance.
“We do not decide for our customers what they have to drive,” van Meel said. BMW M’s goal is instead to build both electric and combustion-powered cars that its own engineers and executives would want to drive, leaving customers to choose between them.
That philosophy is particularly important for a performance division built around driver engagement. BMW M doesn’t simply need to produce a quick EV; it needs to create one that delivers the character and feedback enthusiasts expect from an M car.
Four Motors Will Transform The Electric M
The M Concept Neue Klasse provides a sneak peek of how BMW intends to accomplish that. Its drivetrain uses four electric motors, allowing individual control and advanced torque vectoring across all four wheels.
BMW is also developing its own software and an M-specific vehicle control system around the Neue Klasse architecture. A central control unit BMW calls the “Heart of Joy” coordinates elements including the drivetrain, braking, and vehicle dynamics.
Van Meel said BMW concluded that a high-performance electric M needed this combination of four motors, individual control, and dedicated software. The battery and motors themselves also need to deliver what he described as an appropriately “M-like” experience.
Electric Doesn’t Mean Fake Combustion
BMW M is also considering how sound and simulated gear changes can make its EVs more engaging, although van Meel doesn’t want them simply pretending to have combustion engines. He argued that copying traditional engine sounds or recreating the interruptions of a conventional transmission would introduce artificial characteristics that don’t belong to an electric drivetrain.
Distinct simulated gear changes are still on the table, provided they help drivers understand the car’s speed, response, and behavior without deliberately compromising power delivery. BMW wants to use sound and feedback to make electric performance more emotional while retaining the advantages of electric propulsion.
The company intends to keep developing combustion-powered M cars while adding EVs alongside them, allowing the cars themselves to make the argument for which drivetrain drivers prefer.