BMW: Diesels Will Survive at Least 20 Years

BMW AG predicts that diesels will continue to be sold in the global auto market for at least 20 more years, and gasoline engines will survive at least 30 years.

“The shift to electrification is overhyped,” Klaus Froelich, BMW’s board chief for product development told reporters earlier this week. He predicts EV prices will remain high as growing demand for the materials to make batteries offsets production efficiencies as EV sales rise.

Still, Froelich notes that BMW’s array of piston engines will shrink dramatically over the next several years, Automotive News Europe reports.

Froelich says the company is phasing out its 3- and 6-cylinder diesels because the cost of meeting tighter emission standards is too great. He adds that BMW’s gasoline-powered V-12 engine faces a similar fate.