One of the electric car pioneers in the luxury class says it won’t force electric cars onto customers, despite the rollout of a record number of models.

BMW says petrol and diesel cars will continue to be a part of its line-up and it does not plan to railroad customers into electric vehicles.

While the German manufacturer is poised to introduce 25 new electrified models over the next three years – including 12 purely electric cars and 12 plug-in hybrids – it has reaffirmed its commitment to petrol and diesel power for decades to come.

In a media briefing this week the boss of BMW Australia Vikram Pawah said: “We are absolutely committed to the power of choice now and well into the future, allowing customers to choose either a combustion engine, plug-in hybrid, or fully electric vehicle.”

“We are not choosing one technology over the other,” said Mr Pawah, “because we agree the customer would like all the powertrain options available. We are going to offer customers the power of choice to choose the powertrain that they want. We are technology based mobility providers.”