Munich. This is what sustainable success looks like.
The BMW i3 has won the 2016 “Golden Steering Wheel”, making it the
first model taking part in the competition organised jointly by “Auto
Bild” and “Bild am Sonntag” to have received the award for the second
time in recognition of its groundbreaking lifecycle assessment. The
world’s first ever premium automobile to be conceived from scratch for
purely electrically powered mobility, the BMW i3 first received the
“Green Steering Wheel” for being the “best new environment-friendly
car” in 2013, even before its market launch. In the meantime, the BMW
i3 (combined fuel consumption: 0.0 l/100 km, combined CO2 emissions:
0 g/km) has taken to the road to demonstrate its qualities. With
locally emissions-free driving pleasure and highly efficient power
consumption, a pioneering design and intelligent connectivity, it
impressed the jury of experts in a series of intensive practical
tests. They selected the BMW i3 as the winner of the 2016 “Golden
Steering Wheel” in the “Alternative Drives” category, with the award
presented yesterday at a festive gala held at the Axel Springer
publishing house in Berlin.
First awarded in 1976, the “Golden Steering Wheel” is one of the most
prestigious awards in the European automotive sector. Now in its 41st
year, the competition initially involved 36 current models being voted
on by magazine readers in Germany and 20 other European countries. The
BMW i3 finished first in its category in all 21 countries. The 21
reader favourites were then put to the acid test by a jury of
specialists that included racing drivers, designers, technicians,
digital experts, editors-in-chief and readers. Based on extensive test
drives and detailed comparisons, the 57-strong international panel
then went on to select award winners in each of the six categories,
with “Alternative Drives” being introduced as a category for the first
time this year. Here again, the BMW i3 was the clear winner, receiving
the highest score from five out of the seven groups of experts.
Having now been on public roads all over the world for three years,
the BMW i3 demonstrates how purely electrically powered and therefore
locally emissions-free mobility can be combined with hallmark brand
driving pleasure. Ever since its market launch, the BMW i3 has been
the world’s most successful electric vehicle in the premium compact
segment. In Norway, for example, the BMW i3 has been the top-selling
vehicle of the entire BMW model range since 2015. In Germany its
market share for this year to date is 20.2 per cent. Globally, almost
85% of BMW i3 customers are new to BMW.
In combination with resource-friendly materials and production
techniques, the car’s model-specific features make for a holistic
sustainability concept that won the “Green Steering Wheel” early on,
along with numerous other awards, and the model still remains unique
in the automotive sector to this day. At its market launch, the BMW i3
was the first vehicle with a TÜV-certified lifecycle assessment that
is at least one third better than that of automobiles powered and
produced in the conventional manner.
The expertise gained in the development of BMW i automobiles is now
used for technology transfer to the core BMW Group brands. In addition
to the use of CFRP in the body structure of the new BMW 7 Series, this
is particularly reflected in the integration of eDrive technology in
the BMW iPerformance models with plug-in hybrid drive. After the BMW
iPerformance models of the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, the BMW 3
Series Sedan, the BMW X5, the BMW 7 Series and the BMW X1 xDrive25Le
iPerformance developed exclusively for the Chinese automotive market,
the new BMW 5 Series Sedan with plug-in hybrid drive will also be
launched in the spring of 2017. The first plug-in hybrid model of the
MINI brand is due to follow in 2017.
Consistent progress in the area of eDrive technology further
increases the appeal of the BMW i3. The BMW i3 (94 Ah) with extended
battery capacity (combined fuel consumption: 0.0 l/100 km; combined
power consumption: 12.6 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km)
achieves a range of up to 200 kilometres in everyday conditions and a
range of up to 300 kilometres in the standard cycle. This surpasses
the BMW i3 (60 Ah) – which is still available – by more than 50 per cent.
For further details on official fuel consumption figures, official
specific CO2 emissions and power consumption of new cars, please refer
to the “Manual on fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and power
consumption of new cars”, available at all sales outlets, from
Deutschen Automobil Treuhand GmbH (DAT), Hellmuth-Hirth-Str. 1, 73760
Ostfildern-Scharnhausen and at
http://www.dat.de/angebote/verlagsprodukte/leitfaden-kraftstoffverbrauch.html.
ManualCO2 (PDF ‒ 2.7 MB)