BMW Helping Government Work Towards “E-mobility”
BMW will be aiding in the development of the Merkel administration’s national platform for e-mobility. The initiative is composed of seven groups working on “concrete proposals designed to establish Germany’s long-term leadership in the realm of electromobility.” Other participants in Frau Merkel’s initiative include Daimler, Volkswagen, and Audi, as well as several energy and battery-technology providers.
BMW’s board member in charge of development, Klaus Draeger, will be co-chairing the “basic conditions” working group. Draeger’s co-chair in the “basic conditions” group is Lars-Hendrick Roller of the European School of Management and technology. The six other groups are responsible for powertrain, battery technology, charging infrastructure, standardization, materials and qualifications.
There is potential for this project to lead to a massive gain in electromobility technology, an exciting prospect for dealers of Belmont luxury cars. Consumers at BMW dealerships Belmont location shouldn’t expect to see the trickle down effect of this initiative for a while, especially since a tight German government budget has caused funding issues and slowed project commencement.
Automakers had initial hopes of receiving government funding to jumpstart the technology development, but quickly it quickly became apparent that these hopes would not be realized. Instead, the CO2 fleet average will be distorted by counting E-cars multiple times- not quite as handy as cash, but an incentive none the less.
According to their press release, BMW intends to contribute knowledge gleaned from years of working in the electromobility arena as well as real-world usage information gleaned from the worldwide Mini E program and that of the 1-series–based ActiveE due next year. BMW’s Mini E fleet is currently driven by a hand-picked group of drivers who are in constant communication with the carmaker and so far the feedback has been largely positive.
While some dealers of Belmont luxury cars question whether BMW’s participation in this initiative designed to bring Germany to the forefront of the e-mobility field means that the company will withhold knowledge or technology from their stateside branches for the sake of gaining competitive advantage. However, BMW dealership Belmont consumers can take comfort in the announcement by BMW spokesman Tobias Hahn that “there is no binding agreement for exclusivity with the German government… [and] We are principally focusing on a policy of freely sharing our experiences.”
