BMW lobbying against tougher emission proposals while talking up its green credentials as official Olympics car sponsor
BMW is lobbying to water down European plans to improve the fuel efficiency of cars at the same time as trumpeting its green credentials as the official car sponsor of the Olympic Games, according to internal documents seen by the Guardian.
The German car manufacturer ? which on Monday announced a �250m investment by the end of 2015 in three factories in the UK ? is providing 4,000 cars to ferry officials and athletes to and from Olympic sites as part of its deal with the games organisers. It saw off competition from Nissan, which had proposed a fleet of electric cars.
Unveiling the London 2012 cars in April, BMW UK's marketing director, Chris Brownridge, said: "Our cars are best in class in terms of fuel economy and emissions in every segment of the market." And on its Olympics website the company claims: "sustainability is embedded into everything we do."
But an internal BMW review written in June outlines the company's opposition to European commission proposals for a tougher limit on carbon emissions from new cars sold within the EU in 2020.
The company is thought to want to avoid the cost of adapting high-end BMW models to the stricter continent-wide target and has been circulating its document as part of discussions with commission officials and member states.
The document complains that the EU proposal "leads to a massive burden shift to the disadvantage of the premium manufacturers [such as BMW]." It also says that car makers such as BMW that have previously cut emissions "should not be punished by harder targets in the future." It discusses shifting the burden away from re-engineering the cars towards other measure such as use of biofuels.
If the company is successful in weakening the target it will mean that cars sold in Europe will be more expensive to run for drivers and produce more CO2 per mile travelled.
In 2007 and 2008, German car makers lobbied intensively against a 2015 target of 120g/CO2 per kilometre for the average emissions of a car maker's fleet, leading to a weaker target of 130g/CO2 per km eventually being agreed on by European governments. Average new car emissions in Europe were 135.7g in 2011, almost meeting the 2015 target four years early, which environmental campaigners have cited as evidence the targets were not set low enough.
Greg Archer, of campaign group Transport and Environment said: "It is time for the hypocrisy to stop. BMW should stop talking up how green and efficient their cars are whilst at the same time lobbying to weaken planned regulations to improve the fuel efficiency of cars. Car buyers want more fuel-efficient vehicles, that put money in drivers pockets through lower fuel bills."
Luca Lytton, a spokesman for the independent motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said "We very much support the 95g target. It's clear that a lower CO2 target is better for British motorists' pockets. The target needs to be achievable but we think 95g is."
The car industry is split on the new EU proposals, with smaller car makers such as Fiat, Renault and Peugeot lining up with "progressive" makers such as Ford and Toyota against the German car makers, Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler. Paul Everitt, the chief executive of the UK motoring trade body, the SMMT, told the Guardian the 95g target was "fairly comfortable" ? albeit "technically challenging" ? for manufacturers.
The German car companies are understood to favour a "phase-in approach", where the cut-off date for their new fleets to meet the 95g target is pushed back to 2022, with only a percentage of their fleets required to meet it in 2020 and 2021. A similar phased-in approach was used for the 2015 target ? 75% of a manufacturer's fleet must meet the 2015 target by 2013.
A new version of the leaked proposals shows that additional allowances have been given to heavier and larger vehicles since the first proposals were leaked in early June.
BMW declined to comment.
Sara Ayech, climate campaigner at Greenpeace, said: "The new car efficiency targets being discussed by the EU this week must not let the big polluters off the hook. It's time for the European commission to face down [those] who want to water down the efficiency proposals. The UK government must push for strong car regulations. It will not only help hard-pressed British families to get more efficient vehicles, saving them money but it will be good for the planet by reducing carbon emissions."
On Monday, BMW announced it would be investing �250m in three factories in Oxford, Swindon and Hams Hall near Birmingham for its Mini line-up. "This additional investment is great news for all our employees in the UK and shows the BMW Group's commitment to Britain as a vital manufacturing base for us," said Harald Krueger, member of the board of management at BMW Group.
Tim Bradshaw, head of enterprise and innovation policy at the employers' body, the CBI, said: "BMW's decision to invest in its UK plants re-affirms our position as one of Europe's leading locations for car production, and will have benefits for the wider automotive supply chain."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jul/09/bmw-hypocrisy-european-car-targets
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