Dr Mike Reichelt tells us more about the Neue Klasse’s virtuous cycle of sustainability, which includes the whole production process
Fast and furious virtue-signalling from the EV (electric vehicle) driving brigade aside, it is more pertinent to look beyond the EV’s zero emissions while it is being driven to the overall sustainability of the production cycle.
Preserving the virtuous cycle of production is a less commonly discussed area — in fact, it is far from transparent in many cases — but we reckon it is every bit as important as the finished product itself.
Before you hop onto your high horse, it would do well to consider every stage of an EV’s lifecycle from practically start to finish, which should rightly be conducted through eco-friendly processes and sources. And yes, this includes end-of-life disposal/renewal solutions, start-of-life rare-earth sourcing and everything in between.
Ever since the launch of the “BMW i” sub-brand in 2011 (and the creation of the compact i3 city car and i8 plug-in hybrid sports car), BMW has adopted a holistic approach to production. The usage of the car itself should not be the only “green” part of the equation.
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“It’s really important to take a holistic approach when we look at sustainability for the future,” Dr Mike Reichelt, head of BMW Neue Klasse, tells us. “This means we do not just look at the lifecycle of a car, because the most important thing is to scrutinise the operations from the very beginning of production to optimise every detail. How are the materials sourced? How is the car produced? How can we use renewable energy throughout the whole production line?
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He continues, “The objective is to reduce the use of fossil-sourced energy up to the end-of-life point where the car is recycled. When BMW started with the Neue Klasse, we realised we had to take a big step forward in terms of not just creating a car, because what can be recycled is also important. At the moment, the iX3 is built at the brand’s latest Neue Klasse iFactory production plant in Debrecen, Hungary (pictured above), and BMW intends for this to be the blueprint for our future factories.”
Sustainability aside, there is a great deal of new technology in the Neue Klasse models, but this does not mean buyers of ICE (internal combustion engine) cars will be left out in the cold.
“We are making two revolutionary steps,” Dr Reichelt tells us. “Our first step started with the iX3 and the recently launched i3 — there is now all this new technology in the Neu Klasse models. And because it represented such a huge leap forward in technology, our second decision was to roll out the Neue Klasse technology across the BMW portfolio to come, as it is important for us to scale it. This will encompass the ICE and plug-in hybrid models, which will benefit from Neue Klasse’s design philosophy, Panoramic Vision, and other elements. Neue Klasse is fully electric, and we will roll it out until the end of 2027. Still, the next two years will see a total of 40 models and model updates, with the whole BMW portfolio eventually benefiting from Neue Klasse technology,” says Dr Reichelt.
To end, Dr Reichelt reiterates the importance of considering the entire production cycle, “Don’t just look at the small portion of a car’s lifecycle — the usage phase is just a snapshot. Only when you look at the whole process can you institute a holistic solution. This is what it means to be sustainable over the whole lifecycle, and we are absolutely convinced that this is the only way to reach our net-zero target. In fact, just a few years ago, BMW Group had already integrated its sustainability report into its annual report to provide greater transparency into our product lifecycle process.”
