Global developments such as the climate change, limited resources and growing urbanisation increasingly strengthen many people’s desire to become aware of their social responsibility and to organize their lives in a conscious and sustainable manner. As a result of this new consciousness, the premise of individual mobility is also changing. Alterations to infrastructures, limited space and environmental pollution necessitate new mobility solutions. The EU is also aspiring to reduce the emission of climate-damaging greenhouse gases by 20 percent compared to 1990 by the year 2020.
The BMW Group foresees a future with electromobility. Hence, 2007 witnessed the launch of project i, an initiative whose task it was as the spearhead of the BMW Group to develop sustainable and future-oriented mobility concepts. The long-term goal is the further development of the entire company through new sources of stimulus and concrete projects in the areas of production, development and marketing.
At the Los Angeles Motor Show in November 2008, the BMW Group presented the electric vehicle MINI E, this being the first result obtained within the context of “project i”. The BMW ActiveE is a consistent continuation of the BMW Group’s activities in the field of electromobility. In the year 2011, the BMW Group handed over a fleet of test cars to customers. Already existing know-how pertaining to electric vehicles was deepened and further knowledge attained.
The results flowed directly into the newly founded sub-brand BMW i, with which the BMW Group is offering an innovative solution for sustainable mobility within the urban environment. The first vehicle of this kind, the BMW i3, will be brought to market in 2013.
Incidentally, the BMW Group’s efforts are already clearly noticeable today. Between 1995 and 2010, it was possible to reduce the CO2 emissions of its vehicles by around 30 percent. The BMW Group aims to lower emissions by a further 25 percent by the year 2020.
