
A BMW engineer told AutoCar that diesels are still more efficient in most real world conditions. The hybrids do well in low speed stop-start conditions, but otherwise can't beat a diesel. At the Detroit Auto Show in January Daniel Kammerer told ABG that BMW wouldn't introduce the hybrids until about 2010-11. Since then BMW has introduced a start-stop system on the 1-Series and announced a mild-hybrid system with DCX. It seems like for the near term, BMW will focus on the simpler lower cost aspects of hybrids in combination with their gas and diesel engines.
[Source: AutoCar]