BMW will create up to 6,000 new jobs in 2022

BERLIN -- BMW plans to create up to 6,000 new jobs in 2022 to prepare for growing demand for its electric vehicles, the automaker's CEO told German daily Muenchner Merkur.

BMW is on a very good path through the transformation and has its plants prepared for e-mobility, Oliver Zipse was quoted as saying in an interview.

The automaker will increase its workforce by up to 5 percent in 2022, Zipse said.

BMW has so far sold more than 1 million electrified vehicles -- including full-electric and plug-in-hybrid vehicles -- and plans to reach 2 million sales of full-electric vehicles by 2025.

Given ongoing investments by semiconductor manufacturers, the semiconductor shortage should be over in a year, the CEO said. "I expect that by the end of next year we will see a largely normal situation."

Zipse said demand for EVs was very high. "Our i4 is sold out for months, as is the iX."

The i4 sedan competes against the Tesla Model 3, while the iX is BMW's full-electric SUV flagship.

Next year, BMW plans to introduce an electric version of its luxury sedan 7 Series. "It won't be any different there," Zipse said.

The automaker aims for at least 50 percent of global sales to be fully electric by 2030, but has warned that a lack of charging infrastructure was a major barrier to quicker consumer uptake of EVs.