The car brand that nailed the EV transition: BMW shows the way with its mix of electric and petrol cars, such as the BMW i4 and M3, as rivals Porsche and Mercedes-Benz backflip on EV plans

Out of all of the performance car brands grappling with the zero-emissions transition, none have had the success of BMW M.

The performance wing of the BMW brand registered an all-time record sales tally of 206,582 units last year, as its parent company sold more than 2.45 million vehicles worldwide.

Underpinning those figures was a 13.5 per cent increase in EV sales for the BMW brand, while BMW M’s top-selling car for its third year in a row was the electric i4 M50 sedan.

They’re such positive results that BMW M’s CEO, Frank Van Meel, is now cautious of M’s sales accounting for too much of BMW's total volume, which was 9.4 per cent last year.

“Of course, we cannot grow indefinitely because we are now more or less at almost 10 per cent share of the overall BMW volume… and Australia’s even more at 20 per cent, so we cannot grow until we are, let's say, at 100 per cent,” said Van Meel.

“We are looking forward to keeping that level above the 200,000 sales line. Of course, we have a plan of vehicles that are coming… we are positive towards the future that we can keep the momentum."

The outlook couldn’t look more different for one of BMW M’s German rivals, Porsche, which is eyeing huge profit losses and thousands of job cuts amid declining global demand for EVs and nosediving sales of its flagship electric models.

Porsche bet big on the EV transition, pouring billions into the development of its Taycan performance EV, electric Macan SUV and future electric 718 Cayman and Boxster twins, with the aim of transitioning its sales to 80 per cent electric by 2030.

It has since halted those plans and announced it will ramp up production of its remaining internal combustion engine (ICE) and hybrid models after ending production of the petrol Macan, Cayman and Boxster last year. The move will force Porsche to spend €800 million ($1.3 billion) more than it originally planned for this year.

An estimated 1900 factory workers will lose their jobs in the process, while Porsche's profit margins will fall to between 10 and 12 per cent, well below its long-term target of 20 per cent.

Other rivals Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Lotus have also taken financial hits, with all three brands walking back their respective plans for electrification.

So, how, in an increasingly precarious market, has BMW managed to outperform its rivals?

From the beginning, BMW has been hesitant to fully commit to an electric-only line-up by a specific date and has been critical of the European Union's 2035 ban on cars with an internal combustion engine.

So much so, BMW’s CEO, Oliver Zipse, warned its competitors against going all-electric way back in 2020.

"If someone cannot buy an EV for some reason but needs a car, would you rather propose he continues to drive his old car forever? If you are not selling combustion engines anymore, someone else will,” said Zipse.

BMW has consequently continued to invest its petrol and diesel engines, while diversifying its line-up to accomodate hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric technologies, all of which are available under the M banner.

Flexible vehicle platforms also allow for ICE and electrified versions of the same models, extending the life of some of the brand's most iconic nameplates.

It’s a strategy that has proven far more effective than those employed by its competitors, which have moved to introduce entirely new, and expensive, electric-only platforms under models that have no history with their respective brand or customers.

Take the local sales success of the petrol BMW X1 and its electric iX1 equivalent, or the petrol BMW 4 Series and the electric i4, as examples.

The brand's Australian operations even moved to scrap sales of the petrol-powered 4 Series Gran Tourer because the i4 equivalent proved to be more popular.

BMW M plans on taking the same approach with its next-generation M3, which will be offered in both petrol and electric guises.

“I think it’s an open secret that we are working on a full-electric [M3], but we also communicated we are working on a combustion one, so that is also an approach to go both ways... there is no silver bullet for powertrain technology,” said Van Meel.

Looking ahead, it's a strategy that BMW M (and its parent company) is planning on employing until at least the EU’s ICE cut-off date of 2035, and potentially beyond.

“At BMW M you will still have a variety of drivetrains available [by 2035] because there are a variety of countries and regulations and customers,” said Van Meel.

“We are flexible with volume and products to react to changes in demand either by the customers themselves or regulations that force customers into a direction, but we always want to offer a solution for our customers."

And for now, at least, it appears BMW most certainly has.