BMW Wins Green-Car-Guide.Com Greenest Manufacturer Of The Year Award 2012

LONDON – Apr 25, 2012: Green-Car-Guide.com, the UK's original green car news website, has announced BMW Group as the winner of its Greenest Manufacturer of the Year Award 2012.

A key factor in BMW Group winning the award was the wide range of BMW and MINI products that offer class-leading emissions and economy, whilst also delivering an excellent driving experience.

This is the third year out of five that BMW Group has won the Green-Car-Guide.com Greenest Manufacturer of the Year Award.

Paul Clarke, founder and editor of Green-Car-Guide.com, said “Although judging the winner for the Greenest Manufacturer of the Year Award was harder than ever this year, BMW Group genuinely deserves this accolade, due to the company producing large volumes of cars that genuinely combine efficiency, performance, a great driving experience and an aspirational brand. As well as its current petrol and diesel model range featuring the brand’s pioneering EfficientDynamics technologies, we’re also on the verge of seeing hybrid and electric cars come to market from BMW, which will add another facet to the company’s green credentials.”

Tim Abbott, Managing Director of BMW Group UK, said: “BMW is delighted to have been awarded this honour as it highlights all of the amazing work we have done to lower vehicle emissions and improve fuel consumption figures but without losing any driver enjoyment. We have the lowest average fleet CO2 emissions of any premium manufacturer – a position we have enjoyed for many years now. Moreover, 2012 is the year we will introduce the ActiveHybrid3 and the ActiveHybrid5 saloons, show further developments with the BMW i brand, our vision of electromobility in the near future, and launch other vehicles all with ever lowering emissions figures. So we plan to continue in the same manner.

“This news comes in a year when we have a big role to play as the Official Automotive Partner to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, a games with the ambition of being the most sustainable games ever, and coincides with it also being the seventh year in a row that the Dow Jones Sustainability Index voted BMW the most sustainable car company in the world.”

This year the judging of the Greenest Manufacturer of the Year Award was particularly difficult as many manufacturers are offering an increasing range of lower emission cars for consumers, including electric models. However, as important as electric cars are, their sales volumes are still very low, whereas in comparison BMW Group sold over 400,000 ‘conventional’ vehiclesworldwideduring the first three months of 2012, achieving its best-ever first quarter in sales. By producing large volumes of increasingly efficient cars across different categories, BMW Group is proving to be highly effective at helping to lower average tailpipe CO2 emissions.

Critically, BMW applies its EfficientDynamics fuel-saving technologies across its entire model range as standard, rather than just having a small number of ‘green’ products. It’s relatively easy for a manufacturer of small cars to claim low emissions; BMW’s trick is to be able to achieve low emissions for larger premium cars that have greater power outputs and higher levels of performance. BMWs are often fleet purchases, covering high mileages (thankfully BMW products have no driving range limitations), and so they help in reducing emissions on a greater scale.

The new 3 Series is a perfect example of why BMW has won theGreenest Manufacturer of the Year Award. The 3 Series is capable of more than 60 mpg from the 320d models, yet driving enthusiasts will be delighted with its impressive performance and handling that can be delicately adjusted through its agile rear-wheel drive chassis. Even the petrol 328i combines the seemingly impossible set of statistics of245 hp, 44.8 mpg and 147 g/km CO2 emissions. Cars with both class-leading efficiency and rewarding rear-wheel drive handling are a real rarity, but the new 3 Series ticks both of these boxes – and more.

The judging of the award also took into account the MINI brand, which continues to combine low emissions and fun. The MINI Countryman is one of the lowest emission all-wheel drive cars you can buy, and the recently-introduced SD engine is another example of BMW offering low CO2 levels relative to power output.

As well as BMW Group’s current large volume sales of petrol and diesel cars, development is well underway of electric products as part of the new BMW i sub-brand. These vehicles promise a new leap forward for customer expectations in the area of electric mobility.

Apart from the efficiency of its products, BMW can also demonstrate its sustainability as a company; BMW Group has been ranked industry leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for the last seven years. And it’s not just about environmental sustainability; car manufacturers must have financial sustainability in these economically turbulent times, and they need to be producing outstanding products to achieve this. In 2011, BMW Group sold 1.67 million cars worldwide with a profit before tax of 7.38 billion euro. The activities of BMW Group also contribute £1.2 billion each year to UK GDP.

BMW has of course also been selected as the Official Automotive Partner to the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games, and sustainability was a key factor in winning that contract, due to BMW achieving the required 120 g/km CO2 target – even though the fleet includes large vehicles such as the 5 Series, which emits just 119 g/km CO2in 520d EfficientDynamics guise, whilst also being a highly accomplished, refined and comfortable motorway cruiser.

In summary, BMW Group remains the company to beat for producing cars that are class-leading in the area of efficiency whilst having no compromises in the driving experience. It shows there is hope for people who want drivers’ cars and economy – which is exactly what Green-Car-Guide.com has always stood for.