Nearly six months after BMW unveiled the electric i4 gran coupé sedan, a company chairman is showing strong signs of confidence, even against electric vehicle (EV) automaker Tesla.
BMW Chairman Oliver Zipse claimed on Thursday’s CNBC’s Squawk Box that BMW is “growing faster than Tesla,” and while it isn’t clear what metric puts them in that category, the automaker has sold 47,455 units globally up to the first half of 2021.
During the segment, Zipse said, “From a global perspective we are currently growing faster than Tesla.” Zipse continuned, “With infrastructure goals which Biden Administration set I think there is a good opportunity to come very close to that market.”
"From a global perspective we are currently growing faster than $TSLA," says BMW Chairman Oliver Zipse on EV market. "With infrastructure goals which Biden Administration set I think there is a good opportunity to come very close to that market." pic.twitter.com/wkbEhkLeRv
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) August 26, 2021
Zipse has spoken out against Tesla before, too. Earlier this year, Zipse said that Tesla would have a hard time keeping up with growing competition, saying that the “rest of the industry is moving ahead big time.”
During the news segment, Zipse also said that the upcoming BMW i4 electric sedan would be built at the company’s Greenville, South Carolina production facility.
Last year, BMW cancelled the U.S. launch of the iX3 electric SUV, due to waning demand and a low range in comparison with the directly-competing Tesla Models Y and X.
