BMW Group expects battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and its top-end electric vehicles to remain the main growth drivers this year, the automaker said during its annual conference on Thursday.

Last year, the German automaker saw a 74.2% increase in its BEV sales after 375,000 units were sold, representing around 15% of total sales. According to BMW, it has delivered “significantly more” BEVs to customers than its direct European competitors and most of the new-entry players in Asia and the US.

“This year, once again, our fully-electric vehicles should see significant double-digit growth,” says BMW ceo Oliver Zipse. “We will soon have sold more than one million BEVs worldwide... BEVs – along with our models in the upper premium and luxury segment – are already our biggest growth drivers.”

A significant “double-digit growth” is also expected in the top-end EV segment, with models such as the BMW 7 Series, the BMW X7 and the all-electric Rolls-Royce Spectre expected to drive growth. BMW i5, set to be available for the first time as a BEV this year, is also expected to contribute to the growth, Kallanish notes.

This year, BMW expects an operating profit margin of 8-10% in its core automotive segment, with the deliveries of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles forecasted to rise “slightly” year-on-year. 

“We are investing in the future of our company like never before,” says finance chief Walter Mertl. “Construction and modernisation of our plants and the planned expansion of our portfolio are progressing quickly this year.”

The automaker says it has already crossed the sales of 2 million electrified vehicles (BEVs and plug-in hybrids combined). Last year, the company’s electrified vehicles accounted for 22% of overall sales, with 190,000 PHEVs sold. While the sales of BEVs have risen much faster in recent years than PHEV models, BMW expects PHEV demand to remain stable this year.

Overall, BMW’s automotive segment brought in €132.3 billion ($169 billion) in revenues, up 7% y-o-y. The company says over 15 BEV models from all BMW Group brands will be available on the market in 2024. 

From next year, the first all-electric model of the group’s Neue Klasse concept will be going into series production in Hungary. (See related story)