Clear commitment to sustainability: At the IAA Mobility, the BMW Group committed itself to ambitious climate protection goals and a circular economy, and presented viable ideas for implementation.

For the BMW Group, the IAA Mobility 2021 – which this year made its debut in the company’s home city of Munich – was more than just an opportunity to present its latest products: the BMW Group also outlined its ambitious goals for more sustainability and less CO2, along with specific measures and ideas for achieving them.

What the company presented at the IAA Mobility was no less than a paradigm shift in the way we think about future mobility, with a stronger focus on sustainability and the circular economy. In the fight against climate change, the company is now taking things up a notch and cutting CO2 emissions significantly. By 2030, CO2 emissions from vehicle utilisation will fall by at least half compared with 2019, and by at least 40 percent across the vehicle lifecycle.

Speaking at the opening of the IAA, Oliver Zipse, BMW AG Management Board Chairman said: “We are committed to the goal of complete climate neutrality latest by 2050 throughout the entire value chain. We are the first German automotive manufacturer to join the Business Ambitions for 1.5°C target. In short, net-zero carbon emissions from 2050 latest.”

The BMW Group’s e-mobility campaign is an essential component in achieving these goals, with 10 million fully electric cars to be launched onto the market in the next ten years and e-mobiles accounting for at least half of global sales by 2030. What’s more, CO2 emissions will fall even further as the BMW Group introduces more and more recycled secondary materials into its new cars. At the moment, vehicles consist of almost 30 percent recycled and reusable materials. The Secondary First approach will increase that figure to 50 percent.

At the IAA Mobility, the BMW Group demonstrated just how a vehicle can be made entirely in line with the Secondary First principle – with the BMW i Vision Circular. The fully electric vision vehicle is made entirely of recycled materials and is fully recyclable itself. “The BMW i Vision Circular provides a glimpse of our circular future. It shows our mindset, our long-term goals and how bold our thinking really is,” said Zipse.

Outlining the four principles of circular design – RE:THINK, RE:DUCE, RE:USE and RE:CYCLE – Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design, said: “In designing the BMW i Vision Circular, circularity was at the centre of our thinking. So this vision vehicle is packed with innovative ideas that meld sustainability with inspiring aesthetics. It’s an approach we call ‘circular design.”

Presenting its vision of urban mobility, the BMW Group unveiled four more concept vehicles, both on two and four wheels. The BMW i Vision AMBY is the first high-speed pedelec for urbanists of the future, with three speed settings for different types of road: 25 km/h for cycle paths, up to 45 km/h for city streets, and up to 60 km/h outside towns. Following a similar approach, the BMW Motorrad Vision AMBY combines the advantages of a motorcycle with those of a bike to offer a highly emotive mobility concept for cities and escapes. Unlike the BMW i Vision AMBY, it has an accelerator grip and footrests rather than pedals.

BMW Motorrad also presented an innovative electric vehicle that is neither classic bike nor scooter: the BMW Motorrad Concept CE 02, an easily accessible electric bike for anyone aged 16 or over wanting mobility and independence. MINI, too, unveiled an innovative, fully electric vision for spacious future mobility, with a completely new interior epitomising the idea of clever use of space.

In addition, the BMW Group presented the core models of its electric mobility ramp up: the BMW iX, its new technology flagship for electromobility and connectivity, and the fully electric BMW i4 Gran Coupé. Both were on show for the broader public to experience for the very first time. And from 2025, electromobility and circularity will become one, when the BMW Group launches its Neue Klasse.