BMW: What comes after 'ultimate'?

What happens to an automaker that claims to make "the ultimate driving machine" when cars can drive themselves and have electric motors that lack a satisfying roar under the hood?

BMW's strategy is to wholeheartedly embrace that revolution now, before it's too late. The automaker plans to introduce an electric, autonomous car called the iNext in 2021 — not as a niche offering, but as its new flagship nameplate.

BMW is positioning the iNext at the heart of its future plans, combining its work on electric drivetrains, autonomous technology, vehicle connectivity and interior design. It is "our new spearhead of innovation," BMW CEO Harald Krueger told Automotive News last year.

The iNext is an important part of BMW's effort to become the leading seller of electric luxury vehicles. The company plans to sell 12 EV models by 2025, including versions of the Mini hardtop and BMW X3.

Krueger has said BMW's success will depend more on being a technology leader in growing segments such as electrification and connectivity rather than higher sales volumes.

BMW doesn't see gasoline-powered cars disappearing from its lineup anytime soon, projecting that hybrids and EVs will account for no more than 25 percent of its sales in 2025. But it's not clinging to the internal-combustion engine, or the notion that autonomous technology would take away from its owners' experiences in their vehicles.

And BMW has not been too proud to seek assistance as it ventures into such an uncertain future. It has formed a partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Intel, Mobileye, Delphi and Continental to develop a scalable self-driving platform to be used in the iNext and other vehicles. The companies are seeking a third automaker to join the group by year end.

The iNext, expected to have a crossover body style, will be capable of Level 4 autonomy in certain situations, meaning a driver does not need to control it at all and could potentially take a nap during the journey. But BMW, in an effort to keep its products from becoming interchangeable commodities, intends to keep building pedals and steering wheels into them indefinitely, whereas Google's Waymo and some other companies working on autonomous cars have said there will not even be an option for a person to manually take control.

"You will never see a robotaxi from BMW," Krueger told reporters at BMW's headquarters in May.