Di Silvestre: “The car remains a symbol of freedom, this is why BMW has chosen technological openness”

ROME – “The car remains a symbol of individual freedom and will remain so in the future.” Massimiliano Di Silvestre, president and CEO of BMW Italy, is not surprised that the car is still the preferred means of travel for Italians. And he is convinced that the multi-energy strategy adopted by BMW, which plans to continue developing thermal engines, including diesel, alongside innovative electric models with the Neue Klasse, is a guarantee of a long life for four-wheelers.

Mr. President, the car continues to be popular but it is going through a difficult phase. How do you see the near future?

"The car also represents a symbol of individual freedom. And we believe that this role will remain unchanged in the future, because the car is synonymous with mobility, but also with research, innovation, design. It is an expression of a person's lifestyle. And, in Europe alone, it provides work to more than 13 million individuals. In a particularly complicated geopolitical context, we at the BMW Group are confident in our strategy, which is based on flexibility and speed."

Bmw Italy has very good numbers, even in contrast with the trend of the group. How is 2025 going?

"As BMW Italy we are committed to a path of growth and improvement. The prestigious results achieved in 2024, and which we want to further improve in 2025, are the result of a profound review of our approach to business and our market that started in 2020 and led us to modernize the sales model, given that the traditional one did not completely satisfy us. We have started new partnerships in sports and starred restaurants, launched innovative projects that have become international such as the House of BMW, confirmed the agreements with the Concorso d'eleganza di Villa d'Este and the Internazionali di tennis di Roma, renovated the showrooms of our dealer partners that today look like fashion boutiques. And the numbers prove us right: in 2024 Italy was the first market in the world for growth in volume and quality for the BMW brand and we are leaders in the premium sector. In 2025 we are improving this trend. In the first five months we reached 39,432 registrations in Italy, up 5.3% (BMW 33,027 units, +5.2%; Mini 6,405, +5.8%). Added to this is the leadership in the electric market compared to traditional competitors with an increase of 57.6% as a group. Even on plug-in hybrid engines, sales of the BMW brand are up 27.3% on 2024. And BMW Motorrad is confirming its leadership in the premium market with iconic products such as the G/S and the RT».

You have adopted a multi-energy strategy and are among the few to continue to develop thermal engines, including diesel. Do you believe that hybrid thermal engines will be not only the present, but also the future?

"For a long time, electromobility was considered the only way forward, also because it was in line with the dominant thinking. Now many manufacturers are backtracking, reviewing their strategy. We don't have to do it because our approach has always been based on technological openness and the desire to decarbonize through all available technologies. This is why we have continued to invest in the efficiency of petrol and diesel engines, we are already ready for Euro 7 and in parallel we have implemented new technologies such as plug-in hybrids, electric and from 2028 hydrogen fuel cells. Last year alone we invested 9 billion euros in research and development. And this is translating into concrete results: in 2024 we were below 100 g/km of CO2 and we are confident of achieving the target of 93 g/km of CO2 in 2025 without having to spread it over three years, as recently decided by the EU. In this sense, plug-in hybrids play an important role, just as we are convinced that the use of biofuels such as HVO100 in diesel engines is crucial."

Bmw is also betting a lot on electric. You will soon launch the iX3, the first car of the Neue Klasse platform on which the group has made huge investments, but sales of electric cars continue not to take off. Could this be a problem for Bmw?

"With the Neue Klasse we will take electric mobility into a new dimension. We will launch 6 electric models in 24 months. The iX3, the first car of the Neue Klasse platform, will be presented in September at the IAA in Munich. But always within our strategy of technological openness and innovation, which aims to offer super-efficient combustion engines, plug-in hybrids and electric cars, there will be a total of 40 new or renewed models by 2027. A future-oriented project that no other has. And the results are already visible today. In recent days we have reached three million electrified cars produced and at the end of May for the first time we overtook Tesla in sales of battery-powered cars in Europe".