BMW unveils London 2012 Olympics vehicles

Friday, 29 July 2011 03:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

BMW has unveiled a range of cars, motorcycles and bicycles that will be used during the 2012 Olympics in London.

The main automotive sponsor of the Games wants to use the event to showcase its green technology.

Some 4,000 BMW vehicles will roam the streets of the UK capital next summer, with many of them electric or petrol-electric hybrids.

In addition, conventional diesel-powered cars will be used, BMW said.

Unveiling the largest car that will be used, a BMW 520d that can travel 101km on a gallon of diesel while emitting just 119g/km carbon dioxide, Ian Robertson, BMW Group’s global sales and marketing director, insisted the company has “driven our carbon dioxide emissions down more than any other car company, particularly in the premium sector”.

BMW has reduced its average emissions by 5.1% in the last year alone, versus 3.4% for Audi and 3.3% for Mercedes. The Dow Jones Sustainability Index has named BMW Group the “most sustainable automobile company worldwide” six years in a row.

This, Robertson pointed out, helped BMW to win the Olympics contract, as the company complied with London’s demand for a fleet of low emission vehicles.

It should also be a distinct competitive advantage that could help it to boost sales from 1.6 million cars this year and to two million by 2020, he said.

“Just like safety was part of premium in the 1970s, sustainability is part of premium today,” Robertson said.

In Europe, where there is a greater focus on emissions than elsewhere in the world, average carbon dioxide emissions from the BMW fleet have fallen to 146g/km, though this belies the company’s reliance on sales of larger and considerably thirstier models in the markets where growth is the strongest, such as Asia and the US.

Indeed, while putting considerable effort into making low emission models, BMW is also clinging to its image as a producer of high-performance cars with big, powerful — and thus thirsty — engines.

Such apparently conflicting values are likely to result in further “brand separation” in the future, where the company adopts different marketing strategies for, for instance, its electric sub-brand BMWi and its high performance, and far from green, sub-brand BMW M.

BMW is also moving beyond its core activities of building cars and motorcycles, and working on different products.

In cities in particular, cars may not always be the best vehicles to get around, so the company is working to develop both different vehicles and new services.

BMW is using the Olympics as a platform to launch products in new market segments. It is adding a pedelec —or an electric bicycle — to its range of bikes, and is launching a range of scooters.

“The scooter market around the world has been growing dramatically in recent years, particularly in urban environments,” Robertson said. (BBC News)