I asked a BMW exec why their grilles became ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE.

They said: “It’s popular in the Chinese market”

I went: “Yeah but your whole brand is about that aggressive bull-nose thing, don’t you care about brand identity, heritage, etc?”

They responded: “It doesn’t matter what you think. The larger unsightly grille sells very well in the Chinese market. It’s larger than the US and European markets combined.”

So there’s your answer. It’s an EV, it doesn’t need a grille, people prefer it.

It needs something to direct air around the frame/bumper/crumple zone/whatever frunk space it has. Aerodynamics are very important for range.

I’ve always been curious about a very no frills car with basically nothing in the front so that aero could be maximized but I doubt that makes financial sense. Would probably look like baby’s first F1 car lol