Earlier this week, we reported that BMW had concluded the market for gasoline and diesel engines isn't drying up anytime soon, despite the seemingly sudden influx of all-electric vehicles coming to market. Appearances can be deceiving: the fact remains that internal combustion isn't going anywhere anytime soon. What will happen, however, is an increase in hybrids and plug-in hybrids, mainly the latter. BMW has already confirmed this, as has its M high-performance division.

But here's the thing: implementing new powertrain technologies is anything but cheap. In the past, BMW had a budget for a wide variety of internal combustion engines for specific models, but this approach is simply too expensive. The solution? A common engine architecture.

Autocar has learned all future BMW M engines will feature a common 500cc cylinder capacity that'll be compatible with 2.0-liter four-cylinder and updated 3.0-liter inline-six engines and a new 4.0-liter V8. Not only will this business model save money by allowing greater economies of scale, but will also speed up development time. In theory, this could mean more M models being launched at a faster pace than ever, very good news regarding the ongoing BMW M vs. Mercedes-AMG vs. Audi Sport battle. If, for example, Mercedes-AMG launches a new segment leader, BMW's response time will be far quicker.

It's not only smart engineering but also smart business. Expect both M Performance and full-blown M models to be powered by these new engines combined with electric power. What's still not 100 percent official are plans to set up a two-tier line-up of hybrid drivetrains. The less powerful of the two will be used by M Performance models while the latter will be used for future M sedans and SUVs. Just because all-electric powertrains provide that coveted instant torque doesn't mean they have the necessary soul of a high-performance car, at least not yet.

Until that happens, BMW M and M Performance will continue churning out turbo fours, inline-sixes, and V8s – albeit connected to electric motors and batteries.