Article: BMW To Expand EfficientDynamics Vehicle Range

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 BMW To Expand EfficientDynamics Vehicle Range
By: iStockAnalyst   Monday, June 09, 2008 11:49 AM

FRANKFURT -(Dow Jones)- BMW AG (XETRA:BMW) (BMW.XE) plans to expand the range of models included in its EfficientDynamics energy-saving initiative and, by the end of the year, sell around 830,000 such vehicles, the German carmaker's head of vehicle architecture and integration Hans Rathgeber told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview.

Of the 830,000 target, around 700,000 cars will be under the BMW brand and 130,000 the Mini brand, Rathgeber said. Up to now, the Munich-based company had planned to sell around 800,000 EfficientDynamics cars in 2008, almost double the 450,000 sold in 2007.

The EfficientDynamics initiative ensures that new BMW models use 15% less fuel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through more efficient injection systems, or the automatic shutting down and restarting of the motor at traffic lights.

"Currently 40% of BMW's new cars in Europe emit a maximum of 140 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer," Rathgeber said.

As of 2012, the European Union will be able to impose high fines should the average emissions of a fleet exceed 120 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer.

"Of course we first started with measures which had the best cost-benefit ratio," Rathgeber said. "It's clear that additional large jumps (in energy- saving technology) can't be done that quickly."

In the U.S., where BMW sells more cars than on the domestic market, the company faces pressure from tightened environmental requirements, which "will lead to significant restrictions," Rathgeber said. The trend is clearly toward more fuel-efficient vehicles, he said.

In addition, BMW, like many other car manufacturers, will be legally obliged to offer a vehicle in the U.S. that doesn't emit any greenhouse gases by 2012. " The lawmakers want people to drive with electrical cars," Rathgeber said, adding that the carmaker will decide this year if it will manufacture an electrical car.

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