BMW won't cap EV driving range after all despite previous 600km limit claim

BMW has walked back comments it made about its electric vehicles' driving range being capped at 600 kilometres – saying that isn't in fact the case.

At a recent media conference, a company official said the German carmaker was not targeting a 1000km driving range for its EVs, instead aiming for 600km for fully-electric cars (which it has already met) and 100km for plug-in hybrids.

Confusingly, on Monday BMW claimed that was not the case and it will continue to develop vehicles capable of travelling beyond those limits.

“The BMW Group will not stop to further develop the electric range of their battery-electric vehicle portfolio,” a statement issued to Wheels read.

BMW issued the response following comments made by BMW Group electromobility spokesperson Wieland Bruch, who was asked when an electric vehicle with a driving range of 1000km could be expected.

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“One thousand kilometres of [driving] range is not a target we have with our fully-electric cars,” Bruch told Wheels at the time.

“We are aiming for 600 kilometres [of driving range] for our fully-electric cars, and 100 kilometres with our plug-in hybrids in everyday driving.”

The German automaker's Australian arm would not confirm why the previous comments were made if not true, only saying the fresh statement was to "clarify [its] position".

While the longest electric-only range in a plug-in hybrid BMW is 86km currently, the company says its 600km target has been met, and it will continue to pursue higher electric vehicle ranges.

“The BMW iX and BMW i4 are the first fully-electric models within the BMW portfolio to allow for a range of around 600km in WLTP and everyday driving. Thereby they fulfil exactly the target range which had been set for their individual market segments,” the statement read.

“The BMW Group will continue pushing the boundaries of all aspects of electric driving. This applies in particular to further increasing ranges and higher charging speeds, depending on the individual model."