BMW says electric cars as profitable as petrol, diesel cars

German car manufacturer BMW makes the same profit from its electric vehicles as from its petrol and diesel vehicles, Oliver Zipse, the automaker's boss, said on Saturday as he presented the new generation of electric cars called "Neue Klasse" ("new class" in German).

"The assumption that combustion engines are always more profitable than electric cars is completely wrong," Zipse said at the event at the IAA auto show in Munich.

Although producing electric cars is more expensive, the costs are offset by the higher prices that customers are willing to pay.

"We make money with every electric car today, and that will be even more the case with the Neue Klasse," Zipse said. "It will be very profitable."

Taking on electric rivals

BMW's new models will enter a competitive segment where trailblazer Tesla has started a price war. 

BMW has not yet announced prices for the Neue Klasse, but Zipse promised "a very competitive offer." "We will not price ourselves out of this market," he said.

BMW unveiled a prototype for its upcoming "Neue Klasse" electric vehicle (EV) at the Munich auto show on Saturday. The EV, which is roughly the size of the current 3-series, is part of BMW's multibillion-euro effort to catch up to Tesla and other EV makers

BMW has begun overhauling its Main assembly plant in Munich, adjacent to the company's headquarters, to build Neue Klasse vehicles, which are to be launched from the end of 2025.

"Neue Klasse is by far the biggest investment in our history. Because the technology we are using all over BMW is all new in all areas, without exception," Frank Weber, BMW's chief technology officer, said without revealing total investment figures.