New-gen BMW M2 may come as an EV, no plan for hybrid

The BMW M2 marks the beginning of the end for the internal combustion engine in the stable of the German luxury car brand. BMW has already revealed that the second-generation M2 is the final M performance car to avoid electrification. It also hinted that the next generation model would come as a fully electric model instead of a plug-in hybrid car. The automaker has claimed that from 2023 onwards, each and every new full-fledged M division car will arrive with a hybrid powertrain to echo the wild-looking XM.

Meanwhile, BMW has already ruled out performance cars with three or four-cylinder engines. Continuing with the inline six-cylinder engines past 2030 and adding an electrification touch to that seems unlikely, as the European Union is mulling the ban on sales of new internal combustion engine cars from 2035. Keeping an eye on these developments and considering the fact that a smaller engine would not be worthy of an M2, once the battery pack is drained, it can be assumed that the potential third-generation BMW M2 will be a fully electric model.

Speaking about the automaker's strategy, BMW M division CEO Frank van Meel has said to CarBuzz that developing a plug-in hybrid car with a downsized engine is challenging as the internal combustion powertrain must be potent enough to compensate for the lack of a hybrid boost when the battery runs out of energy. "A plug-in hybrid in a small car might be a difficult issue because plug-in hybrids need to have sufficient power, even if the electric part is not available. If your base engine is not strong enough, then a plug-in hybrid makes no sense," he said.

Interestingly, BMW's arch-rival and another German luxury car brand Mercedes-Benz would beg to differ. The new Mercedes-AMG C63 gets a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine that churns out 469 hp of peak power and 545 Nm of torque on its own.