F&I Management & Training

BMW is reducing its vehicles' emissions at four times the rate of other major manufacturers, according to a leading Brussels-based environmental watchdog group. The average new car sold last year by the Munich-based carmaker typically emitted 7.3 per cent less carbon dioxide per kilometer than in 2006, according to a report on carmakers' fuel efficiency by Transport & Environment, the campaign group. The finding will vindicate BMW's Efficient Dynamics strategy of improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions across its vehicle lineup, rather than focusing on a small number of image-boosting "eco-cars." BMW, with a fleet dominated by the kind of high-performance luxury cars now in the sights of carbon-cutting legislators, has one of the industry's largest research and development budgets. It is investing heavily in more efficient engines, "stop-start" or microhybrid systems, and other emissions-cutting technology in response to pressure from local and national regulators, including the European Union, which wants carmakers to cut their cars' average CO2 by about a quarter by 2012 to 130 g/km.

DATED: 28.08.08

FEED: AW