Business Don't miss out on the headlines from Business. Followed categories will be added to My News. BMW is ploughing ahead with its battery-powered car strategy – partnering with Toyota to build a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle by 2028 – as fellow up-market brand Volvo dumps its pledge to build only EVs by the of the decade.
The luxury German marque, which also owns the Rolls-Royce and Mini brands, says it will jointly develop an “all electric powertrain” with Toyota using hydrogen fuel cell technology, taking “zero-emission technology to the next level”. It announced the partnership the same day that Volvo, renowned for its environmental commitments, scrapped its plans to sell only fully electric cars by 2030 in the latest slowdown in growth for battery-powered vehicles. But BMW vice-president of hydrogen vehicles Michael Rath was adamant that electric-powered cars represented the future.
BMW’s hydrogen cars are effectively EVs, with a chemical reaction taking place in the fuel cell between hydrogen and oxygen from the air, through which power for an electric motor is generated. “The use of hydrogen on a large scale will play a vital role in the global effort to combat climate change,” Dr Rath said. “Sustainability is a key element of the BMW group’s corporate strategy overall.
“The BMW Group aims to reduce emissions per vehicle over the entire life cycle by 2030 by at least 40 per cent compared to 2019. We are proud of what we have achieved as.