BMW may kill small petrol and diesel cars, blame it on tightening emission norms

German luxury car major BMW may have to pull the plug on its small engine powered petrol and diesel cars in the near future, owing to the tightening emission norms in various countries around the world, claims a report by Autocar UK. This forecast comes at a time when the auto manufacturers around the world are increasingly focusing on shifting to electric powertrains from traditional internal combustion engine technology owing to multiple factors.

BMW is one of the car majors that have been focusing on the same strategy. In this process, not every type of car is likely to survive the transition, claims the report. The report points out that the small, front-wheel drive models could be in jeopardy due to the transition in powertrain technology.

The report claims that the UKL architecture of the automaker, which underpins several models from the cars under several brands from the BMW Group, won't be able to easily accommodate larger hybrid powertrains. On the other hand, if BMW wants to continue selling these small cars in the European market, the automaker has to comply with the regulation in the continent and shift these models to the hybrid powertrain technology. This may result in the automaker ditching these cars based on the UKL platform. BMW X1 and Mini models are going to be impacted due to this.

The German luxury auto giant is also facing another hurdle, which is a lack of uniform sales volume. The auto brand's small cars don't sell in the US. On the other hand, China is a major market for BMW small sedans. Considering this BMW's dilemma is if it ditches small cars, it will leave the crucial market like China for its rivals. Overall BMW is facing a multi-pronged challenge with its small cars.