With the new 7 Series, BMW is setting course for a sustainable future without sacrificing driving pleasure. Peter Haug, marketing director BMW Group Netherlands, outlines what we can expect from BMW in that future.
"The usability and popularity of electric cars varies greatly by region. Mainly due to the available charging infrastructure, of course. In Europe, with Norway and the Netherlands leading the way, this transformation has been going on for a long time. But in a lot of other markets there is still a big customer need for other powertrains. That's the reason we still differentiate in that per region. We make what people need; in short, we bet on everything."
"And then when you see what has been gained in efficiency and emissions as a result! Almost no car manufacturer does that anymore. Customers for whom an electric car is not the ideal option are entitled to the most modern and cleanest possible technologies. The new generation of 6-cylinder gasoline and diesel models have therefore been thoroughly overhauled to make them even more dynamic and efficient, also in preparation for the 2025 Euro 7 emissions legislation. These are not minor modifications: some variants contain up to 90 percent new or upgraded components. An example is the 740d of the new 7 Series: it has a mild hybrid system- an electric motor with 18 hp and 200 Nm supports the combustion engine - including new AdBlue catalytic converters with an integrated filter to make diesel vehicles run cleaner. We are Bayerische Motoren Werke: for us, in anticipation of important European directives, it makes sense to deliver the best, cleanest, most efficient and most dynamic engines. That's part of our brand."
"Under the right conditions, hydrogen fuel cell technology can certainly play a role alongside battery-electric cars in locally emission-free mobility as well as in reducing the BMW Group's overall carbon footprint. We foresee that electric and fuel cell cars will share the same architecture and components, e.g. the same electric motors. Moreover, it makes business sense to offer another technology in addition to battery-electric in order to serve all customers. And also to make yourself less dependent on batteries and the rare earths they contain. Next year, BMW Group will take the small-series BMW iX5, which is equipped with the second-generation fuel cell, to various markets worldwide for field tests and to promote hydrogen. In the Netherlands, we will have four of these models available in April and May. In the second half of this decade, we plan to build and offer a larger series to customers. In the run-up to that, at least two things are important. First, the development of a global hydrogen economy and the production of green hydrogen must be supported. Second, the hydrogen refueling infrastructure (700 bar) must be widely expanded in all relevant markets, especially in the EU and the US."
"The Neue Klasse is a next generation of electric cars. Of these, the architecture is completely new and developed specifically for electric cars. It involves a new platform, a new design philosophy. And it also means a substantial step forward in the field of electromobility. BMW Group is going to invest billions in battery technology in the near future. For the first time, round battery cells will be used that fit perfectly into the new architecture. The innovative lithium-ion batteries for the sixth generation BMW eDrive technology provide a 30 percent greater driving range, a more than 20 percent higher energy density and a 30 percent higher charging rate. Only green energy is used to produce the cells, and a significant proportion of the lithium, cobalt and nickel required is recycled material. New raw materials for the new generation of battery cells will be extracted, as now, only in certified mines. But the Neue Klasse also goes much further in digitalization, which translates into connectivity. What currently only the driver sees in his windshield will soon be visible to the passenger, for example. The final pillar of the Neue Klasse is sustainability and circularity. This is about the use of materials, recycled materials. The BMW i Vision Circular embodies this approach: a vision car that looks ahead to 2040 and is built 100 percent from recycled and reused materials. That percentage is already at 30 percent for every BMW today, and it will quickly increase to as much as 50 percent. So the Neue Klasse is about much more than just a platform for electric cars: it is about design, electromobility, digitalization and sustainability/circularity. The Neue Klasse will be built in BMW Group's newest, most modern factory, currently being rigged up in Hungary. This so-called iFactory is the blueprint for all other factories in terms of flexibility, efficiency, sustainability and digitalization. For example, there is already a digital version of in which Neue Klasse models roll off the virtual assembly line - this to optimize all processes. The iFactory will be the first car plant in the world to produce CO2 emission-free cars."
"BMW Group is going to invest billions in battery technology. Round battery cells will be used for the first time."
"Production we control ourselves, use phase too: we make the cars, we make the drivetrains. The biggest challenge is in the supply chain, simply because we work with 12,000 partners. An electric car is not necessarily sustainable. Mainly due to the extraction of rare earth materials, it brings 40 percent more CO2 emissions in the supply chain. We don't just want to offset that, we want to achieve 20 percent CO2 savings in the supply chain. We have to be extremely strict about that with our partners, just as it is expected of us - we are already seeing that in wholesale contracts. We challenge partners to show savings. BMW Group has been at the forefront of sustainability for years. We are constantly working to make our products even cleaner and safer, but we will never lose sight of one element: driving pleasure. In the new 7 Series, you can experience that for yourself!"
This article was taken from the MASTERS MAGAZINE. The winter issue of MASTERS was created in collaboration with Jordi van den Bussche. Many will know him as YouTuber Kwebbelkop, yet he has been working hard as an entrepreneur for some time, as he reveals in the Big Interview. What's new is that his company JVDB Studios is offering to do social media marketing and short-format content marketing for other companies. "They can also go and figure it out themselves, but we cracked the code." Jordi gives a stage to like-minded entrepreneurs such as Jay-Jay Boske, Demy de Zeeuw, Chahid Charrak and Marcella de Bie, and discusses developments around games, crypto and NFT: "Just as bitcoin turned the financial system upside down, the same will happen with gaming." This extra-thick winter issue also features Lengers' first own ship, an interview with Corendon chief Atilay Uslu, specials on the new BMW 7 Series and Samsung foldables, and - exclusively for MASTERS! - an interview with Max Verstappen.
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