Gearing up to personal mobility in the future

BMW Group

Enabling personal mobility tomorrow means adopting a totally new way of thinking today. The BMW Group has established a sustainable programme of economisation along the full length of the company’s value chain. In autumn 2008 the company was named automotive industry leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the fourth time in succession, allowing it to claim the title of most sustainable carmaker.

The focus of our activities in the area of sustainable economisation is in the reduction of CO2 emissions. We have been working intensively on reducing our fleet fuel consumption for many years. This has enabled us to cut CO2 emissions of our vehicles sold in Europe by 25% between 1995 and the end of 2008. We have achieved this through the rigorous application of innovative technologies across our product range as part of our EfficientDynamics strategy.

Future emissions reductions

Equally as important, however, is how we see the future. The number of cars on the planet is set to soar from the current total of around 600 million. Our aim is to develop solutions which lead to drastic reductions in CO2 emissions, through the use of non-fossil fuels and renewable energy sources – the only way the conflict of interest between increasing individual mobility and climate and environmental protection can be resolved. Tomorrow’s mobility will take a different form from today. Various types of drive system producing increasingly low levels of emissions will shape the streetscape and, in the long term, our aim is to enable our vehicles to operate emission-free.

Since the 1970s the BMW Group has been working on the development of sustainable mobility solutions. In the early 1980s, the company embarked on a programme which has seen a steady stream of vehicles with hydrogen drive systems used for research. The process reached a high point in 2006 with the unveiling of the BMW Hydrogen 7. Based on a BMW 7 Series, this hydrogen-powered car was also offered to users outside the company for the first time in a small series of 100 units. This fleet has so far covered 3.5 million kilometres and in so doing proved a hydrogen combustion engine can not only power a car with virtually no CO2 emissions, but can also develop high output and run smoothly and reliably. The BMW Hydrogen 7 cars have been in daily operation in a range of climatic conditions globally.

Challenge of megacities

Transport in the world’s expanding cities is also gaining increasingly in importance. These “megacities” are a particularly tough challenge for environmental protection in general, and the automotive industry in particular. In 1950, there were only two cities in the world with a population of over ten million. By 2015 experts expect more than 36 million people to be living in Tokyo alone. And in 2007, for the first time, there were more people worldwide living in the city than in the countryside. The mobility industry has to make a contribution towards ensuring the ecological and economical survivability of such metropolises. The BMW Group is working on modern concepts for megacities as part of its new strategic direction, and electric drive systems have a significant role to play. Against this background, the BMW Group will be the world’s first premium car manufacturer to send out – from the end of 2008 – a fleet of some 500 purely electrically-driven vehicles for private use under everyday conditions as part of an international project. The MINI E is powered by an electric motor, which sources its energy from a highly innovative and powerful lithium-ion battery. This technology – specially developed to power cars – allows a range of around 250 kilometres (155 miles) and offers high customer value in megacities.

The BMW Group has developed the shape of the hydrogen combustion engine and electrically-powered vehicles – to bring personal mobility into line with the reality of environmental protection in the long term and the shrinking availability of primary fossil fuels.

Environmental protection is not an issue that can be solved by one industry alone. In the field of alternative drive systems, the introduction of hydrogen-powered and electric vehicles hinges on the development and availability of renewable energies. Political measures are required to enable the transition from a fossil fuel-based energy industry to a sustainable one with a clear and reliable structure. These measures should also cover issues regarding taxation and competition law.

A combined approach is a challenge that leaders of industry, politicians and other stakeholders can only tackle by working together and on a global scale. The BMW Group is taking on its own responsibility in this and, through dialogue with its stakeholders, is working towards achieving sustainable personal mobility in the future.

W: www.bmwgroup.com