Investors looking for a radical new approach from BMW’s BMW 0.98% new boss are in for a disappointment. While other car makers are increasingly turning to dedicated electric-vehicle production platforms, BMW is integrating all possible drive types—traditional, hybrid, all-electric—into a single manufacturing model. Flexibility may help BMW navigate what is likely to be a very messy transition to battery technology in Europe and China over the coming years. While the world’s largest car market is shrinking as a whole, luxury car sales are holding up well — those of BMW in particular: Sales in China were up 14.5% for the first nine months. The investment case for BMW depends in large part on whether it ends up needing its prized flexibility.

Source: Wall Street Journal November 06, 2019 15:11 UTC