BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said companies must be careful not to be overly dependent on some countries by focusing solely on electric vehicles, saying that the market for internal combustion engines is still there.
At a roundtable in New York, highlighting that the supply of raw materials for batteries was controlled mostly by China, Zipse said, "When you look at the technology coming out, the EV push, we must be careful because, at the same time, you increase dependency on very few countries."
Zipse has long spoken against a total ban on internal combustion engine vehicles amid increasing pressure from regulators in the automotive industry to curb carbon emissions and environmental impact.
Zipse argued that providing a more economical vehicle with an internal combustion engine was important from both a profit and environmental perspective, citing the gap in charging infrastructure and the high prices of electric vehicles.
He also said that the companies need to plan for energy prices and raw materials to remain high by being more efficient in their production and stepping up recycling efforts to keep costs down.