BMW CEO: Future is in new energy

Engel said the BMW is now talking to officials in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Shenyang to build more charging facilities.

Noting the four cities are "very active" in supporting the plan, he said "they know this is a trend in the future".

In addition to an emphasis on the trendy electric models, Engel also stressed the company's localization strategy in the Chinese market, whose growth is likely to slow down in the coming years, analysts in the industry have speculated.

But Engel remains optimistic and positive based on strong sales figures BMW has achieved in the first three quarters of this year in China.

He rejected a recent London-headquartered Economist Intelligence Unit prediction that the Chinese market will grow by 5 percent in 2014, while car demand in Asia is down. Engel shares his predictions that the overall Chinese market should grow "in line with the GDP", while he thinks the premium segment will grow even more.

The group delivered nearly 318,000 vehicles, including BMWs and MINIs, in the first 10 months of this year on the Chinese mainland, up by 20 percent annually.

The group's share in China's premium market is now nearly 30 percent, said Engel.

BMW has also said China will probably surpass the US as its top national market in 2013 as the brand enters more communities and wins buyers with the 5-series sedan.

"Strong growth in the future will come from the smaller cities and especially from the western region," Engel said, adding China has "100 cities with more than a million inhabitants that have no premium car dealers at all". Even though there is a nationwide market slowdown, Engel said it is "a good thing", as it is "not sustainable" to have continuous super-fast growth.

BMW will focus more on localization, Engel stressed during the entire interview.

He said locally produced cars currently account for about 56 or 57 percent of BMW's sales nationwide, but he anticipates that it will "easily be over 60 percent" next year. "China is our second home," Engel stressed.