This is our in-depth documentary of how to produce more sustainable cars. We are dealing with aspects in exterior hardware, interior materials, wind efficiency, battery technology, raw materials supply chain, EV vs ICE and look into the future.
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00:00 Personal motivation to make better cars
03:16 Contents of the documentary
04:44 BMW sustainability motivation
06:42 CO2 footprint of every part
09:46 Are EVs more sustainable than ICEs?
11:54 Will BMW still build petrol cars?
14:35 Exterior material CO2 reduction
18:54 Steel or aluminum or carbon fibre?
21:22 Interior: animal leather vs leatherette
25:03 Future seat and interior materials
40:45 Aluminum recycling share
43:56 Alcantara factory tour
50:37 The plastic argument
56:30 Aerodynamics: wind tunnel visit
1:02:25 When is aerodynamics critical?
1:11:08 Battery cell research
1:15:33 Future battery technology?
1:18:21 How do Lithium Ion batteries work?
1:19:09 Lithium and Cobalt supply chain
1:20:52 Is there child labour in BMW EV batteries?
1:25:50 How to make car production more sustainable?
1:27:49 BMW Neue Klasse next EVs
1:37:01 All-new Mini models leather-free
1:37:25 Managem Cobalt supplier Arsenic problem
1:40:51 Conclusion: How to build a more sustainable car?
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I love cars emotion adrenaline welcome to Thomas’s driving Lounge Freedom going anywhere you want to go at any given time so many memories and moments are connected with driving a vehicle I’ve been a car Enthusiast ever since and there’s so much I remember connected to Great experiences in iconic vehicles that
Belong to the family or to friends things you just don’t want to forget and in my job as a car reviewer I still enjoy every single new vehicle as much as the first one but I started thinking how can we preserve these experiences for future Generations how can children and future
Children still enjoy and become a car Enthusiast like we once did is it actually possible to still behave like we do and still do something for other people animals and the environment can we combine driving great Vehicles having fun and sustainability we basically cover every kind of vehicle and we know
It’s better to walk or take the bicycle and we often do of course but we all want to live a modern life and still enjoy driving a vehicle but the time is over where we just don’t care what happens next when I started reporting on sustainability 10 years ago in the
Automotive industry people just made fun of me said this is going nowhere no one cares shut up make maybe even threatening me especially the animal leather industry who try to silence me or on the contrary bribing me trying to influence my work when I was pushing for more sustainable car Interiors 10 years
Later everything looks different and making cars more sustainable and using better new and animal-free materials has become daily work in the automotive industry and actually this was started by our Channel and our reporting and our community here ever since then I strongly believe that we can achieve something together and that’s why I
Always talk to the automotive industry people when we attend driving events and for example I met those at BMW who shared their vision of a more sustainable future but I was wondering is it really all true is it just about claims is it just about greenwashing or what’s really behind it
In changing the whole way we produce cars today for this we went through a huge effort presenting you in detail what can be done to produce cars in a more sustainable way and solving very important questions like why is this car smoking weed okay that came
Unexpected for this no not for the weed for the cars I came to Munich Germany the city of famous German beer there we go again yeah and even beer bikes well as you know m is also one of the main Capitals in Germany for real Cars if you want a real insight in the automotive industry and into sustainability you have to watch this video in this documentary we will tell you all about the future BMW strategy with electric vehicles and comp combustion engines new materials and interior sustainability aerodynamics with a tour in a wind tunnel battery
Cell production raw material purchase and Supply Chain management and the next generation of BMWs our electric vehicles really more sustainable and if so in which way and what are the really important concise measures we need to take to create a more sustainable automotive industry woo how to make new
Cars more sustainable and more efficient join me Thomas on this tour in 4k full screen full length let’s go this is the famous BMW 4 cylinder the BMW headquarters in Munich Germany and it forms this building complex right here together with the BMW Museum where you
Can see the Vintage vehicles and the BMW V the BMW world where you can see the current vehicle lineup which is by the way also one of the main tourist attractions in Germany overall what are the main factors to make a car more sustainable in exterior interior especially in the drivetrain are there
Differences between electric vehicles and combustion engines and are electric vehicles really more sustainable we’re going to find out all about that we’re now in front of the fits the for on Innovation Centum in Munich here at BMW this is the center for research and development and with me is Stefan fluck
He’s responsible for the compact vehicles at BMW and Mini so the i1 or the BMW X1 would be one of the responsible Vehicles so I read on the BMW homepage that you want to reduce the CO2 output by 40% till 2030 that’s a number you know and people
Could maybe say yeah it’s just screen washing and so on but what does it actually mean like for the people and for the vehicles and for the individual Parts in your question you had two points the one point how do we get the the people motivated to do this out of
My point of view that’s that was pretty easy is it yeah it was pretty easy because everybody’s talking about how can we get Co2 reduction climate control and wealthiness we can how can we get this combined and the clear answer is we can get this combined through technology and
We are a technology driven company that brings everybody every morning into the office because because he has a he has a potential to work on Solutions which help uh this this overall um Target do you also have a personal motivation yeah and my personal motivation for example I
Have three kids at home they are 17 19 21 and we are always discussing hey you are there at work and you’re working on these premium BMWs and how how can you combine this in your head on the one side climate control on the other side uh working in
A company like BMW and it it’s more and more easy for me that I can say hey we are working on Technologies which reduce the CO2 um the CO2 condtions but then you have to look at the individual parts of the vehicles how complicated is that so in the last
Years we identify the T CO2 footprint of every part of every production technology which is producing the part and then in the supplier chain to the subs supplier and Subs supplier and we have a clear understanding about the CO2 foot print of every part then secondly
Based on this we drilled down the Target down to the part and then we started um um figuring out the actual figure of every part compared to the Target so then you get a gap between the Target and the actual figure and then you can start working on it and then the
Third point is that you identify the counter measures which have the biggest impact on the CO2 footprint for the lowest money impact is there any specific example with this compact platform where you can really say hey that was something really achieved already we have the aluminium rims and
Aluminium if everybody knows is high energy in incentive it there’s a huge footprint 50 kilos of aluminium in a car has a huge CO2 footprint and the rims they have an heavy impact or heavy conflict between design on the one side uh functionality and CO2 footprint so this
Is a very tricky part to get a CO2 reduction into it so in our all electric mini convertible by the way it’s the first uh electric convertible in the world finally electric convertible again finally yeah but the first one in the world we we we we we made it happen that
We have this wheel made out of 100% of recycled aluminum so that’s the first wheel in the world with 100% recycled aluminum and that was kind of a snow PO for all the other cars in the uh in the compact class and the snow poo made it happen that we are up to
70% in of uh of the recycling quote in the rims in this car for example and in addition we use green energy uh to to lower the the footprint so we had a heavy CO2 uh footprint reduction in these aluminium wheels and we are I’m pretty proud of that so does
It mean that sustainability basically becomes one core feature of a BMW next to driving fun and premium interiors and so on that’s exactly the point yeah because uh we clearly think that sustain ability is part of a premium understanding so there are more and more customers who do want to do
Something for the for their CO2 footprint and and they still want to have a premium experience by driving a car people are still discussing out there are electric cars really more sustainable than the petrol cars and when is there maybe a break even point so you have all the numbers and you have
The very same car you have the strategy is going from the same assembly line the electric version petrol diesel plugin hybrid what’s the reation you have all the numbers tell us yeah I know the discussion we know the discussion and we we Face the discussion to be quite
Honest so um it’s very transparent that the CO2 footprint of an electric car when it comes out of production com compared to a combustion car is higher so it it uses more energy to produce a electric drivetrain than a combustion Drive drain that’s fact but it’s fact
Also that after a pretty low phase in the usage phase the break even when the CO2 footprint of the electric car in total gets lower than the one of the combustion engine car that’s pretty early in the use F and of course with electric vehicles with the1 and in
Specific specifically we have to look into the battery production so how do you ensure that the battery production is actually according to the needs of the customer what it expects from a sustainable company since the battery is the part or the component of the car
Which uses most energy in the in the in the production phase and already mentioned this we have the highest focus on the whole production process so we look into every step of the cell production of the uh um module assembly and then of the whole um hvs assembly we
Look into every step and we look into the production process of the subs suppliers and we have it very transparent how big the CO2 footprint is and it’s very necessary because only with this transparency we can conduct the correct counter measures to reduce the C two footprint at the right places
So when you say that the electric vehicle is always the most sustainable one in the long run why building you know the other drivet train I think that’s a very reasonable question thank you for that question I think we have we still have a lot of
Customers who want to buy a car with the lower SE to footprint but it doesn’t fit into their requirements to buy an electric car because they either can’t charge it home or they drive really long distances or they just don’t get a Ed with the electric drivetrain so for them we need
To have an off as well and we put the same efforts into always updating our combustion engines so for them we get the best CO2 footprint combustion engine cars as well so this is why we still have them in the portfolio because there are still some customer who just want it
And do you think there is like a clear direction do you think it will be all electrification in the future or do you think think it might go into some other directions maybe some technology we don’t even know or something who knows uh we think we clearly think that
The um the part of the electric Drive is still still accelerating is still going up but we think that uh after 25 and even after 23 there will be customers who are requesting combustion engine cars and we need to have a good offer for them and we need to to to do
Something for the foot for the CO2 footprint for these customers as well and this is why I think that still we there will be a request for that and that’s why we are putting a lot of effort into the development of our combustion drivetrains as well which one
Would you take the one or the petrol or are you more like the plugin hybrid use case which one would you take at the moment I would take the I ex one it’s such a nice driving dynamic and it that’s a good reach a very good reach
Out of my point of view for my um requirements and I have as I already mentioned I have three kids and even for three kids to be honest it’s it’s it’s big enough in the inside and has the newest and it is the newest entertainment inside so the combination
Of the tour size in the inside of the newest um infotainment and of the newest electric drivetrain in it’s a perfect match for me so this one gets then the daughter approval it gets the daughter approval yes here we are hosted by Andreas feta he is responsible for the sustainability
In the supply chain for exterior and interior materials and behind us is the BMW X1 or in this case the ix1 the electric version and of course I want to know which materials are we talking about starting at the exterior at the exterior most of the material is steel
And aluminum most is steel and uh so we have only the um hood is made of aluminum the rest is of made of steel and it’s made of steel because steel is uh not only cheaper it’s also from a CO2 point of view it’s a better material
It’s lower available or with a lower CO2 footprint available as compared to aluminum and of course we have other area with plastics we have the glass and um so we have in the whole exterior we have all the materials in a mixture like we have also in the interior you know so
Metals and uh Plastics and glass is there the is the greatest potential actually in reducing CO2 inside the steel production yes it is so from our CO2 footprint of in our area from our department Department about 75% of the CO2 footprint is based on steel and aluminum and the CO2 footprint
We have is always only the CO2 which is um produced by the production of the material and the parts out of the material so it’s always the transformation from the fossil material more or less to the final component that’s the CO2 footprint we are um Counting more less
So if aluminum and steel is basically like the major factor we can change to make a car more sustainable from all the excor material what can you actually do with the material can you show us an example how to reduce CO2 inside there yeah um for instance for the aluminium
Hood we can um make sure that our producers are using green energy in the electrolysis that minimizes the CO2 FR all and also to increase the secondary material proportion in the material so that’s two um measures we are taking so that we can get down the CO2 footprint
Of the hood and in the steel um we we are using different kinds of Steel so normally the steel is produced with Coke in the in the oxygen furnace but there are different suppliers also in in Europe already which are using the electric light light um furnace um or
Electric Arc furnace so that’s still they have a high number of scrap 70% 75% some up to 95% of scrap and also not only a small portion of this um raw um Iron more or less which is produced with Coke and for instance this part which is
More or less below this this exterior part um as a reinforcement for this uh C pillar this is made of this electric Arc furnace steel with 75% of um scrap and then CO2 frint print below one and that’s a very good value for steel already and we have that in different
Parts of our cars and for instance in our us produced cars we have up to 50% % of that kind of Steel inwhere in Europe unfortunately the availability of this material is not so good like in the US and the goal would be that somay 100%
The car is from this from that kind or from um hydrogen direct reduced steel that’s the big steel transformation we are depending on and we are waiting for yeah so from a sustainability aspect you would say that steel for a car chassis is still way to go also for the future
Yes yes aluminum is too expensive and uh for a 100% aluminium car and it’s also from a responsib uh a sustainability point of you it’s not uh as good as steel steel steel is if we can get the hydrogen based steel and the hydrogen is produced with green electricity that’s
Uh the uh that’s the minimum requirement for that then steel is still better than aluminum but of course in some cars we will have a lot of aluminium based on other requirements we have weight reduction and um or weight limitations we have to achieve so um we will not
Have only steel cars like also in this car we have a hood made of aluminum because our cars shall not be that heavy because the the Morey Bal yeah it’s always a balancing of um the CO2 footprint in the production or supply chain and the Z2 footprint in the use
Phase Yeah the more heavy it is the car the more you need for gas or uh had gas in the in the use phase yeah BMW has also been using carbon fiber especially in the early you I3 model and so on is that something you said like you know
Wasn’t that useful won’t use it in the future or is it something you carry on from this project as for the use of carbon fiber at the time as we used it very intensively it was very good and for instance in the I I3 we had the
Chassis made of carbon or in the I8 and at that time aluminum or steel amum had a very high CO2 footprint and so the footprint of the carbon fiber was not that higher more or less compared to aluminium it was less now it changed yes meanwhile it changed we have
The green electricity in the uh electrolyzes of aluminium so aluminium is better and that’s why we are not using carbon fiber as intensive anymore like we did uh in the concepts almost yeah 15 years ago now we’re taking a look here at the perforated Center Tech seats in the BMW X1
How sustainable is such a seed actually it’s always depending on to which matur are comparing uh from our point of view compared with a leather SE seed it’s way more sustainable because the CO2 footprint is about 80 85% lower than compared to leather if I compare it
To a a textile seed it’s higher so the textile seed is the most sustainable SE SE and of course why why is that is it just like less raw material used for that or uh less raw material is the one point uh thing so the textile is much
More lighter like than uh artificial Leather So if I take Lo here at the seat and I I I feel the structure it’s really soft and you cannot really differentiate is it now animal based leather or is it artificial leather that’s the target yeah I mean like visually and like from
The htics it totally works but then a lot of viewers were asking what about the durability are you using the same testing methods actually on these materials are they as durable or even more durable minimum same durability so would you say you know because you’re the material expert that this seat here
Basically lasts the lifetime of the vehicle yes that’s the target that’s that’s the minimum requirement we have of course so when this car you know goes into like the you know into into shreding the seat goes along with the vehicle basically it dies like the captain with the ship it dies alongside
With unfortunately yes then there is this discussion about the use of plastic and then also petroleum use um is it actually a significant amount used for this very seed how like how much material how much plastic or then how much oil is being used and also in this like perspective
Of the of the whole vehicle in comparison yeah so let’s start with the whole vehicle or with our area which we are responsible for so we have about 250 kilg of plastic in the car I think with the other departments we have about we have together 300 perhaps 350 I don’t
Know but that’s the amount and the chair or the seats uh in the front and in the rear together I think so we have about 25 kilog of plastic so it’s from our area it’s about 10% from the whole car it’s less than 10% is the plastic in the
Seats so we’re talking like like a single seat would be like some 5 kg or 10B from 300 kg 600 lb overall so it’s actually not that a high share overall no no no no so the seat is almost in the same area like the exterior um plastic
Part from a weight perspective so if you want to save plastic or oil it’s not about the seed it’s more about fuel use right because when we calculate that to fuel it’s like a couple of liters of fuel which you B burn basically yes for seed yeah but still you need a seed
Otherwise you cannot drive a car so you need a some some material for a seed and for instance to to make a 100% wood seed would not be very comfortable yeah that I mean for maybe for living room it’s okay but not not really for a car right
Not for a car and um we also as you said we always have to look at the alternativ so at this moment as we see it right now here this is also one of the most efficient methods even more efficient would be than the the fabric surface
Right yes exactly yeah right now it’s a I think it’s a very good state of weard and we are looking for some Replacements on and optimizations for instance to do the to make the artificial Lea more sustainable using biobased um ingredients and also the backing as a
Recycl so you can really improve it a little bit more and and of course I think you have some some samples right here have let’s take let’s take look yeah so for instance here we have the same kind of leather but it has this biobased um ingredients to make it soft
And also um um the the backing of that material so here this this fabric is 100% redet and uh these two measures um make a CO2 reduction of about 45 uh 35% of CO2 yeah can you say is it always better to do more recycling share or what’s what’s the challenge there um
Depending on the uh material sometimes or as long as we are a multimaterial um uh component it’s better to have more and more ricl if we are able to do that in a monom material we think sometimes um it’s perhaps better to do a little bit less recycling but have a monom
Material instead of a multimaterial material component with a higher risc CL I have later on we could I have some examples for for that yeah and we have also always have to make the decision when which path we are going but U as we want to have more recycled material out
Of the car again monom material components are our favorite more less yeah I also heard that more and more is actually a struggle to get enough recycling material to work with yeah yeah exactly for instance the Fabrics so every new fabric which we are developing is based on 100% Ric polyester the the
Material the surface material as well as the the are um the the material behind that yeah which makes it soft and so on so we are eliminating the the foam we are um using here uh this kind of lease for that but as the the industry um for
The bottles they found now a way to reuse their old bottles for new bottles and so they use all the pet bottles which we have used for the polyester fabric now they are using it by themselves and we have to find new R um sources more for so looking for instance
For clothes but clothes are normally not 100% polyester so and it makes it more complex to get their recycled material then we also have here because talked about seats but now it’s also about the steering wheel so so uh these are the new materials that actually have done the letherette as the steering
Wheel cover here see it here it’s actually a little bit little bit softer even right yeah we are also using that in future models for the seats and for other components but uh it has now it’s the steering wheel it’s the one um artificial letter which we can really
Use in a steering wheel because with steering wheel you always have it in your hands and a lot of people they have um some some some stuff on the hand so it’s really really that the most um or what component in the car which has the most
Influence of chemicals yeah and and so we have so you shouldn’t use any like chemical cream or something not too much grease not like potato chips so actually keep your hands clean then touch the steing right shouldn’t be that complicated is yeah but it’s that’s it’s good for the steering wheel yeah but
That’s why we had a long time no um artificial lad on the uh steering wheel because we had to find a material which lasts also 15 20 years and the steering wheel has to look nice also then after that time but now from this new material
You can also guarantee that it lasts at least you know as long as the material so far the animal based one or maybe even longer that it like looks you know nicer even longer or at least the same at least the same that’s the taret Target that’s the requirement yeah no no
Compromises here so if I got you correctly that at this moment it is useful to use recycling if enough raw material is available if it’s not like maybe like over complicated for the whole process other than that like the 100% petroleum use is still a quite efficient way to do that especially with
When using Fabrics or you know like like efficient way to produce the the leather red yeah the alternative is often not here yeah we we could we can use leather of course but with leather you always have a discussion hey the animal has to die for getting the leather and also the
The rework of the animal skin to leather is also CO2 producing and so it’s it’s not CO2 free with leather and um in the Fabrics of course you can um work with some um um yeah stuff like cotton or something like that but right now we don’t have a
Fabric based on 100% of an an based material because we have also the C this material the fabric has to last 15 or 20 years without compromises and our cars are used in in cold areas in hot areas in in very humidity areas so it has to fulfill the requirements of all the
Places where our customers are using the car in the winter and the summer time with vet closes with with all that stuff and so it’s it’s it’s really uh a lot of development work to have a fabric which uh has um or fulfills the requirements we have in the automotive it’s it’s really
A a product which lasts 15 or 20 years and has to look nice also after that time in minimum our our car yeah the next step however would be then even to reduce the share of raw materials especially oil and so on then you have this next step here yeah we are
Developing this next step that’s uh um we are a have a partnership with a new fiber building and we are developing myum that’s a 100% oil free and animal free 100% biobased material so this is an um you know made of different plantbased material is the
Mix or how how can I yeah yeah it’s a mix of different materials um um yes and then you can have basically is it the same material but just a different stamp because when you take a look at this one here this more looks like like from like
A more raw surface with more texture in it you can see here really feels different little bit like cork maybe a little bit you can that’s the thing with uh with the kind of artificial letter you can stamp every single different surface on it yeah so you can do it this
Way or um without any um structure or whatever structure you want an animal structure or an of uh technical structure that’s that’s a big Advantage the amount of how much you can get out of it is higher than from an hide from a cow yeah because a cow always has little
Um yeah injuries and and so all that stuff which the customers don’t want to see in the seat or which are also a weaking uh weakness for the material at that place so we are we have to cut them out and so the usage factor of um a
Height is much lower than from this um artificial uh material you also have more examples here from inside the vehicle for example door panels from the inside and so on um so here you can more and more raise the share of plant-based materials classic classic uh doll panel
Is based on 100% plastic for all this carriers and so on yeah and of course we can get here recycled material in there up to 30% in some areas in some areas a little bit more but it’s a crash area so we have to be careful about we cannot do
100% recycled material and in the I3 uh um we had this door panel based on this um nature fiber flax or Kina fer um material and we are starting moreels that’s that’s the raw stamping of that um component yeah it’s he seems to do weightlifting at home tot totally so
It’s it’s more or less 1 cm thick um uh fleece which gets pressed more or less in a first step you have it then more pressed down to you have 203 mm thickness and then in the final pressing you have it only a more less a 1 mm fi
Yeah it’s in the I3 but something we can now find in today’s cars or in the new cars coming up like the NOA cluster the new electric vehicles we will see that again in in other cars again we had that a long time also in other cars um
Because of late lightwe um but when we went back to more plastic um for different reasons and but we are now going back and looking to for instance in in this in the different areas to to substitute the plastic for instance for the for this area that’s
The developments we are making here but also for the whole carrier again we are looking forward to do that and we will see that in the new class not perhaps with the first um models but with the later coming uh models I think we will see that again yeah it’s a
Re yeah rethinking on on that material we have talked about carbon fiber and uh we see some supposed to be carbon fiber parts here also super light these will be used in on future beam WM cars but actually you told me earlier that this is not real carbon fiber is it no that’s
A flux fiber so it’s a kind of like a plant-based carbon fiber look at that yeah more or less yeah it’s the same like this material yeah it’s just a kind of webbing of the flex fibers and then you are mixing that with an plastic in
For the external uh Parts with epoxy in the internal or interior parts with PP and then you get out this material and they are same like way like a carbon fiber and uh we are looking forward to replace some of the areas of this decorative Parts which we are making of
Carbon fiber for our cars um now this the this kind of material so you see how even bmwm cars then can get more sustainable then you can tell your friends hey you know I got a great engine on the hood but I still or who or new bmwm electric vehicle but you can
Use actually plant-based carbon fiber so making a car more sustainable is really looking at every single individual piece also for example the floor mats and uh you told me earlier that there are actually two ways we have to look at it first of all reducing the different kind of materials
Making one piece from one material and the second thing then the recycling share here the float in the X1 like what’s the percentage here at the moment so it’s 100% monom material so it’s only polyester so all this scrap which we are producing while producing this um flet
Can be recycled again to the same material so we are based on the all this plants we are producing new flets also and also at the life end uh or end of life of flomet you could recycle that again and the other stuff is to have recyclate material here we have 65% of
Recyclate material so it’s only for 45% we need virgin material based on crude oil the rest is recycled material why is it not yet 100% is it because you cannot get it that clean as for the material is that the thing or yes that’s one reason and
Sometimes also it’s an a a question of availability this florat is produced in China and in Europe and uh so we we we have to make concept which are able to be produced everywhere where we are producing that and if you have in some markets limitations to get this recycled
Material so we have to make compromises in the amount of recycled material also otherwise we would have two different concepts which have to be checked and proved and developed and so that’s that’s why we have sometimes limitations in our world C which we are producing all all over the world and this monom
Material approach is is that something you mainly do for the post processing so that then it can be recycled later on or is there another reason for it in a normal florat all these stamp outs are burned are getting burned so CO2 is um coming from and also at the end of life
Uh one day so this car will will be yeah shreded more or less in 15 20 25 years and perhaps until then we have some regulations or other ways where it makes sense to get out the floormat put it in a specific container for polyester and
Then it gets get uh it gets recycled and not burned anymore so this is at this moment more like a future proof concept which can be used better because we now have to think about what happens with the car in 10 15 years when there different regulations and so on today no
Flormont will be taken out of a car it will get shreded but perhaps it it changes in 15 20 years yeah and that’s a concept already for the future we are thinking also at our recycling at the end of The Life by the way luckily Andreas is not uh responsible for the
Color combination of this vehicle with green blue accentuations and the brown seats so um yeah there are better combinations for the X1 definitely we have talked about aluminum versus steel and you generally say steel especially for the chassis is better as for the sustainability Factor but we still need some aluminum parts for
Weight reduction reasons and wheels is actually one thing but why is it so important with the wheels actually for unsprung weight to minimize that that’s why we have a lot of aluminium or we have aluminium wheels and also for design reasons because with a steel wheel you are not that free in designing
A a cool wheel and our customers they want premium Wheels which a nice design so that’s why we have aluminium wheels so this is now a mini example then why do we have it here that’s a very special thing it’s 100% recycled material and so from a technical point of view it’s
Really feasible that the metals to have 100% secondary material with a very low um CO2 footprint for aluminium it’s only when 0.2 with if you are using natural gas for um recycling that that material and that’s why we have it and for instance our mini Cabrio um bef which we had in
This Edition this 900 car they had 100% recycled um Wheels but it’s not feasible for all the wheels we are having every year in in uh in our group but from this year every new aluminium wheel which we are developing will have in a minimum 70% secondary material and for aluminum
It’s it’s a huge thing right because like the Raw process to get you know from the raw material to aluminum is like really intensive in energy use very high energy intensive yeah so if you don’t have a secondary material it’s about a CO2 footprint between 4 and 6
Kgs for a kilogram aluminium and the secondary material you can get get down for for instance if you have a really pure quality high quality secondary material from aluminium scrap it’s only 0 to so for some materials recycling can actually be quite a challenge but for aluminum as I everything speaks for it
Basically yeah aluminium steel for the metals it’s very good because they keep the technical properties in in Plastics if you are doing a mechanical recycling you have a decrease of the properties of the material and that’s why we cannot have in every area 100% recycled
Material we have it in some Parts in our cars where we can afford that or where the requirements are that low so that it’s still fitting but in a lot of areas we are not able to get to 100% mechanical recycle so we have to have virin material or substitute the virtual
Material this biobased plastic or this chemical recycled plastic which is a in in the early steps of development have you heard that aluminium aluminum yeah I’m more this American German he’s more this British German right BMW is one of the biggest German customers of Alcantara the Famous Brand who produces microfiber seed materials
Is located an hour north of Rome and we could take an exclusive factory tour for you and like anything you can get in the automotive industry it is of course also a factory complex it starts all with these small pet pellets they are now also available with recy cing for
Example the first time here for the Ferrari puru Sanga Alcantara seats in this first factory step the small PD pellets are being melted and being pushed through a tiny hole and then you have these threads they’re hanging all over the ceiling in this first production Hall you see there are the
Dark ones or here the bright ones that depends on the color later on but there these two base colors for brighter or for darker colors then they are being washed wased transported further and are being pulled tight and then happens a very quick process where they are being
Unraveled but just on the outside part so the inside part of the fiber stays intact but the outside part becomes unraveled and that one later gives this Alcantara structure at least a part for it because if you would not do this step here you would rather get for example a
Slick leatherette this again happens for both colors and here this is the first dryer because after this first washing process you need to dry them first then they are getting sucked in here by the way you can feel and see this first unreeled product and it almost becomes
Fluffy like a pet of wool or something and everything of that is being packed into 200 kilo blocks in both colors The Dark One and the bright one then they are being brought into the next Factory Hall here this giant vacuum cleaner sucks the fiber in again and transports
It to the next machines that looks really old school machine alike right here these fibers are being pulled to some kind of carpet they’re being folded layer over layer over layer again and then some giant stamping machines actually condense the material and made of multiple layers you can for a first
Time feel actually already this let’s say half finished material this one is already a somewhat finished roll then the Next Step here the second component of alantara is being added pu this one is done on a chemical basis and this process is actually off limits for camera for security and also for secrecy
Reasons that no competitor can copy it next step is the dying process here colors are being added this is not done chemically by the way so they want to have a more environmental approach they get into these huge washing machines 20 hours by 120° C and then the colors are
Being sucked into the fabric just mechanically after being dried and rolled again you have the final Alcantara product with all of its very fine structure here by the way the difference the black one is with flame retardant for automotive use the gray one here without flame retardant on the back side
For furniture or cloth or something new colors can be mixed directly in the Workshop by the way here they can combine different colors and make unique colors for each manufacturer for each client this is the new complex manufacturing facility where they go a step further so you can either as a
Customer go for this raw product and do it yourself for your own seat as a manufacturer or you get this complex manufacturing service then Alcantara is actually cutting the material for you and process it further the advantage is is that they can better individualize things on their own than inside their
Own Factory so here then you have these smaller pieces of Alcantara where they for example add these red stripes have you ever wondered how that one works so here there are these huge stamping presses and then they are being put on the material once again they are being
Cut out on the outside parts then and then the workers are controlling if everything matches the templates also Al so this one of my favorite proses they brush the final material that it has a very clean and nice look here you can see also another technique this is this
Perforation that another color is shining through from the background also used in the alpha tonali here and this is by the way this stamping finishing process that you have the color combination together also with physical stamping that you have this three-dimensional effect on the seat yeah don’t forget to brush
It different colors are once again being used also for the final processing yeah they also can be funny inside the factory this is also one of the high-tech areas where they have these automatic seing machines for the contrast stitches this one here for example for opal stantis company is also
A very huge customer for them here for the opal gsse models the sporty ones and then we see more final samples right here for different manufacturers different colors contast stitching also these threedimensional stamping and different forms very interesting what you can do for example also for mcaren
Then we can see these final samples here Alpa Romeo Porsche GT3 for example bmwm Performance BMW is one of the big German customers of arant and jagar Land Rover as well or Hyundai with their n products and here we can see our final ala Romeo tonala Parts this is another interesting
Technique where you can see how this is being done this laser stamping I would call it so there’s another Fabric in the background and then there’s Alcantara mat on the foreground and then there is this laser engraving to have these really really fine details that the background color can then shine through
Different parts here by the way Microsoft Surface for example use it you can have book covers shoes or even bags they also have this compartment for example for furniture pillows and it comprises about 15% of the business however Automotive is still the biggest this is how it all started then back in
The automotive industry luncha was one of the biggest customers and here from our editing Studio let’s talk about the plastic argument because what I often read especially when we talk about alternatives to animal skin leather is wait a minute aren’t these alternates based on plastic or then based on Raw
Oil and actually yes it is the case as we have already seen here in the Alcantara production of the microfiber so you can either take a raw oil base that is then further processed plastic these small pallets and so on and then you make these highly evolved materials
From it or alternatively as we’ve also shown here in the Ferrari proo sangu with the high recycling share so the question is always is it bad in comparison to what what are the Alternatives so what do we already have available and what material has the highest impact the question is actually easily
Answered animal skin leather has the highest impact on them all humans animals and also the environment first of all always includes animal cruelty then in the process also toxins are being used these chemicals are also having impact on the water and so on and people are suffering from it and even if
You leave all ethical aspects aside the whole CO2 output is just the highest beginning from land mass use then the whole efficiency in the production Energy Water use and so on and manufacturers have already acknowledged that and that’s the reason why every major car manufacturer has already
Dropped out of animal skin use at least long term some are quicker some a little bit slower but then the question is what are the alter Alternatives and is it actually bad that they are plastic based so a base fabric seat is also an artificial material and that is usually
Not in discussion but that has a similar impact if we take here a microfiber or Alcantara seat highgrade leather red is a little bit thicker use it a little bit more of the material but then we have to ask ourselves what are actually the main consumers of oil that is fuel Heating
And energy production then just a small percentage is used for plastic production and that can be done in a quite efficient way as we’ve seen here with Alcantara for example there the problem is just if plastic or particles are left in the environment as trash or are getting into
The ocean what is the main cause of micro these microplastics in the ocean old fishing nets so always search for the biggest lever you can pull and when is plastic being thrown into the environment plastic bags that are thrown anywhere or for example if there is plastic particles in fashion in
Underwear which is washed hopefully every day but it’s not a problem if it’s for example in clothes that are not washed for examp like like huge jackets which you don’t usually wash or a car seat is not being ripped apart midc Car Cycle life and just thrown into
Environment you know what I mean so I’m not at all a defender of plastic material but at this moment in most cases it is quite efficient and it’s also one of the best things we have and we always have to compare it yeah what’s the alternative so at this moment there
Are two good Alternatives a use recycling it is already being done using recycling share but there the question is is the recycling process efficient and also clean so you have to take full circle there as well and is there enough recycling raw material available the pet bottle industry has already started to
Use their own bottles again so that is also diminishing as for the raw material source and it can be better to have a mono material as well that you can then later on Recycle again the other approach is using plant fibers or also a plant-based oil or for example
Processing plants that you then get like this you know these alcohol products uh products from that which you then can use as a replacement for oil again so all these approaches are there and already being done at this moment science is the way that you have like
This share and can increase the share of it and then at the end of the day there already some prototype materials out there where they go 100% recycling or 100% plantbased or mix these so there the big point is everything is possible it has has the greatest potential and
Even if you think about inside a vehicle the seat is about like 5 kg of highr leather rent maybe 2 and2 kilog of fabric or microfiber or even half that because the material is lighter here Alcantara is also pretty light material and then you have like 3 400 kg of
Plastic in the whole vehicle so even inside the vehicle if you want to save plastic then maybe rather start with the doors or in the trunk in the cover and so on so there’s way more potential there so the bottom line is if you want
To save plastic if you want to save oil go for the fuel heating energy production side or in the vehicle everywhere else but not majorly on the seat you see so that’s how I always try to tackle things where is the biggest lever I can pull that doesn’t mean that
The other problems are not there but there is the potential also to tackle the small problems so technology is on its way and the most important thing is to use the potential of these new modern materials so if we want to reduce the use of raw materials on the exterior of
The vehicle aerodynamics is a huge lever we can pull especially for electric vehicles and with TW F he is the manager for aerodynamics for the small vehicles at BMW and mini we’re going to take a look at the individual details which help aerodynamics here again with our
Ix1 when can you explain which are the main factors you can control to improve aerodynamics here first of all I would like to mention this closed kidney Grill so on this um electrical version this kidney Grill is completely closed which helps the aerodynamic for a better flow
Uh in this area uh to go over the Bonnet and it’s also very important to optimize this Edge to help the flow um going over there without the resistance so when a designers would actually say we want it like completely flat and more angular
You would say n no way um it’s always um um a discussion so we have a very good contact to our design colleagues and we discuss every detail so sometimes we would we would like to have some details and we uh we are looking whether we can
Realize it um on this particular Edge um we are working to a compromise so um as as you see the bmwx1 has a very prominent front um so design was able to make some of this but was also respecting the uh aerodynamic um points where which we need on this area yeah
Because this has been a big discussion that the bmww Kings get wider and wider and also larger in this respect is that something where it’s like guys this really problem for us or would you say like you know we we can manage especially maybe like with electric because they’re closed anyway yeah yeah
Yeah yeah so we will always find solutions for but it’s so very important to have this discussion to get the best solution or get even new Solutions uh for for these areas so would you generally say a larger double kidney for the petrol is a problem but for electric
It’s not problem at all from aerodynamic standpoint um it depends uh on electrical cars uh they are normally closed so for aerodynamic point of view it’s uh not an issue um for the petrol driven cars um it’s also the it’s always the question how much cooling is needed
For the car but that’s very good uh Point um we have a demand controlled uh cooling so even on petrol cars that’s right so on petrol cars we have um uh demand controlled cooling uh on the upper side and the Lower Side on this be
Uh car we can see uh here with air sh technology so normally it’s closed and it just opens if the car um needs some some Cooling and it can open in various positions so we try to keep the the air shutter as close as possible so usually
The designers like to build a very massive front and you might say like hey like the more massive the front is you know it has to really push against the wind but is this actually the critical issue for aerodynamics or is it somewh else um it’s it’s one part of
Aerodynamics but the the back of a car we talk later uh is also very very important for aerodynamics and um helping to realize some design points um we are uh integrating on on some Vehicles also these um uh air curtains so these air curtains help to get a
Prominent front um and helping the airflow to go most efficient um uh to the side of the car you can be wider without losing you know too much but as far as I understand it is more important how the car is being pulled from the rear you know with all
The turbulence or Vortex behind it and it’s not that important how much it pushes in the front is that correct um you do not have to make failures in the front so you you have to be aware that some edges have to be optimized for aerodynamics um but as you already
Mentioned it’s very important to have a really optimized the aerodynamic in the rear of the car then there’s of course also the wheels so I mean you know maybe know like some prototypes or some racing cars from like you know postwar racing cars or something they were completely
Closed at the side you couldn’t even see the wheel I guess that would be like the optimal standpoint aerodynamics wise but the designers would go crazy so um what the solution there to optimize the wheels but you can still see them actually yeah yeah yeah yeah we can I
Can show it on uh on this car particularly it’s fixed here by the way so that the car doesn’t get loose in the Wind Tunnel right yeah yeah so this has to be mounted for wind tunnel tests um because we are operating the cars uh during operation um with the wheels
Turning and uh and the wind so how fast can the car go here actually on this on on this on on this specifical uh test Dino it’s the AOL lab from from the BMW group um we can drive up to 300 km per hour 300 km per hour it’s like 190 m per
Hour like like so the wind speed is coming from there actually from this that’s right huge hole so like the tobine like actually in the top and then the wind goes through here that’s speed of 300 km hour or 90 M hour up two yeah so we would actually like Fly Away
Instantly if we would standing here now and it’s and it’s running so that’s the reason why it’s not running and not in operation right now but this more like for racing cars and not for this and this speed so like what is the typical speed you would test this vehicle on uh
Normally we test the vehicles for aerodynamics at 140 km per hour so what the typical uh speed where we optimize the aerodynamic Behavior because that is a a speed where aerodynamic is very relevant because probably uh everybody knows that the uh wind resistance starts to uh to be the the biggest influence on
Resistance around about 75 kilometers per hour so like 45 miles per hour so um yeah once heard this figure that up like when you begin this speed so driving on the motorway then especially with electric vehicles 2/3 of the whole consumption is accounted for aerodynamics and the rest is like how
Efficient the drivetrain is maybe the weight of the vehicle rolling resistance rolling resistance and so on so when we drive really slow it’s not this kind you know not such an important factor but when we drive Motorway really fast aerodynamics is basically the thing yeah it’s the main factor that’s right so um
Almost two two3 um is the influence of aerodynamics uh driving at 130 km per hour but uh as all bicycle uh users know um the wind starts already at very low speed so uh around about 25 km per hour the wind starts to to uh to generate
Resistance is it like you know like a like a linear curve then or is it a exponential it’s exponential exponential okay okay yeah like consumption basically you like yeah that’s so we we did talk about the wheels or we start to talk about the wheels so um yeah we
Could close them all off then probably everyone would say like that doesn’t look you know good enough but here it’s this compromise you know it’s you have this aerodynamic optimization at the side here yeah yeah yeah yeah first of all it’s very important to have a a good
Area for the flow going to the wheel arches and after the wheel arches is very important to optimize these areas and on the wheel itself we are optimizing the shape and also the rims and uh on this particularly um Rim you can see there are some uh areas hidden
So the air flow uh will have a lower resistance uh on such Wheels I can also see really tiny Vortex generators here the side mirrors are they just designed or do they play any role actually um we we they play a small role um but we do
Have to respect um safety uh issues so we are not able to make uh big wings on this area uh due to other U people uh going uh along the the car um but it also helps for water management for example and it’s also of course a design
But for aerodynamic reasons if you could optimize as you like you would put them also there but just make them even bigger at the side Mir yes yes but it’s it’s not possible if if uh a passenger goes along at the at the car um you are
Not allowed to to make something like this because they could be could be um injured um just don’t step yeah I I don’t want to make you stumble here uh so about the um the door handles there has been a lot of discussion because we
Have seen so many new door handles in in this case we can still you know like manually open them like this and we also have a feedback but they are still like kind of integrated but we’ve also seen with other vehicles that we have completely flush door handles that are
Absolutely integrated and maybe move out and sometimes the feedback is kind of weird or then I have my hand here suddenly the car Clos itself and then my hand is stuck so we have experienced everything about it and then my question is how important are flush door handles
Yeah we know they help definitely but is it a crucial thing or is it’s more like we can live with or without it doesn’t matter that much it’s uh it’s not it’s it’s not a big thing so uh aerodynamics having a good aerodynamic uh on a car is
Not being decided by the design of of a door handles but we are optimizing every detail of a car so um if we are um able to to choose one the option so we would prefer these so this is basically like this compromise because they are
Somewhat flush but you still have like a manual opening here that it doesn’t have to go out I think that’s to me it would be a good compromise between you know like the the Practical thing to handle it actually and still having the looks and the aerodynamic efficiency yeah but
More crucial is it actually towards the rear isn’t it much more important so uh I would I would almost say the most important area of the cars we real the car because um you have low pressure in the in the back of the car and uh that’s
The area where the the forces are being generated which keeps the car backwards this is actually what what is also measured here right so you can one you know you can have like the separate wind lens we used but uh this one is also used you told me that this actually can
Weigh the car but in all different dimensions yeah that’s right how does it actually work how do you how can you actually then decide what’s better or worse for the vehicle yeah so um we are standing on a very big weight measuring instrument so and it can measure weight
In different directions so actually now we are being measured we too and the car I’m okay um uh but it can also um measure uh forces in the lateral Direction so if a wind um is trying to push the car away uh it generates uh a force and this
Force is measured by this system and then you can judge whether the car is better or worse or if you make a modification you can decide oh this measure helps to improve aerodynamics or not here um actually the wind comes in here and then you made this part a
Little bit longer actually so um is it both in also design and aerodynamics at the same time time yeah um that’s a very important area of the car um we are trying to get the car as small as possible in the rear of a car so that’s
The reason why this uh Edge is going quite deep uh for such a uh sa car and uh we are also trying to get the flow on this so-called aror edges um being in at the car as as long as possible but the air flow is being separated on the car
Um in a very small area the rear of everything basically like runs together like a raindrop that would be like the ideal form that would be ideal but the otherwise the car should be two 2 m longer you here these threedimensional Tails I mean when we look at them as a
Customer we may think like that’s just a design thing because it looks cool when it’s threedimensional but that’s also area isn’t it yeah yeah so we are we are trying always to to to have edges on the car where the flow can be separated um and uh so therefore the
Designers created um these tailights uh due to our demands for having edges on the car in the rear of the car and the same also accounts here for the for the lower part that’s right yeah so the air goes here and then you try to basically make this one longer actually that’s
Right just cuts off so you’re responsible here for the smaller vehicles but when we just talk about aerodynamics you know we always think about like a smaller car is more efficient less raw material use that’s true but just from aerodynamics actually so you say it would be better or more
Efficient if the overall car would be like 5 m you know or 200 in in length actually yeah if you if you look at the very early uh electric cars with solar power uh you could see they are very very long so as if the cars are longer
It is helpful for aerodynamics but we are also finding solution for smaller cars to get a good aerodynamics so actually then the challenge for making smaller cars more aerodynamic is even greater than for longer car yeah of course looking at new vehicles and especially new EVS we of course have to
Focus also on batteries to find out what BMW is doing with their batteries and their ROM materials we are visiting the new battery Research Center in past off near Munich here BMW is researching the production of their own battery cells to get the full knowledge about the process
However they won’t use them for mass production in their vehicles which seems a little strange having such an effort just to discuss on eye level with their suppliers Martin Schuster is head of battery cell development at BMW group what I wonder your research rearing the battery cell and even research how to
Produce a battery cell yes but you’re not going produce to produce it yourself so how does it you know how does it fit that fits very very very well because you have to understand the battery cell in product and process and I think the battery cell is one of the
Complexes things in automotive industry at the moment so you have to Define from the material from the technology but then to understand the process a battery cell is product and process so you have to understand it here we produce round about um 1 million celles per year in
Our competent Center um very focused on development around about 5,000 so it’s a scaling but not on the totally uh lineup of a 20 GB hour it’s just to understand product and process but will you use the C here also in like prototype vehicles or something or but we won’t see them in
Real series production you’re right you’re fully right uh we use this for testing uh if this process process parameters we have round about 3,000 parameters to identify to understand and then we use it for testing in some prototype packs but not in serious production uh I was just imagining like
Uh you know you buy transmission from ZF and you would you know develop a transmission than yourself and tell ZF what to do there it’s usually you that wouldn’t happen because they are the experts but then here with the cell manufacturing the suppliers are also the
Experts and they maybe like angry at BMW that you are researching that yourself and then tell them what to do or what to change no it’s a it’s a good question because um look when we discuss with the cell manufacturer you have to discuss on an eye level because we want the best
Cell we want the best cell we need the best cell for our cars so so you have to discuss on a product and a process uh eye level with the same manufacturer um they know how a giga Factory works we don’t know it yet we come a step closer
With this to understand and then we can discuss it very very deep always focus on the product the best product and uh then last but not least with this competence from development from purchasing from production we can gain the forces together and this C this uh than with the cell supplier and that’s
No we are no competitors we are fully open be transparent and to discuss this topics with the sell supplier and it works very well it’s a success model from the past what do you think can you actually do to make self production even more sustainable because after all this
Will be a huge part of the sustainability strategy yes sustainability is one of the topics we want to create much more here because how much recycled material is in a Cell up to in a Target and later Target 100% recycled materials um but you have to
Increase it uh that we can do we can try here the second thing is how you produce reduce the energy consumption because that’s one of the most important topics during battery sell and you can try it or we can try it here in a small scale
Um and then discuss this with our cell suppliers opportunities to go the next step that’s that’s a big opportunity for us and also for the industry and um we are really convinced that the sustainability is one of the top targets of BMW and so
We can have a big um big part of it what is the next concise step for the batteries is it a solid state um and can you maybe like get rid of certain materials maybe without Cobalt there are also models out there already who work without Cobalt or maybe you know use
Complete different materials what are the next steps ahead first of all I think the lithium battery cell is the top at at the moment and uh long history and we think it’s still a long future because lithium iron uh lithium um uh battery is what you’re
Looking for for the future I think all solid state you know we are also participate with some U play players uh in the world and we also work on it very very closely uh but we think not before 2030 in a big scale up you will see some demo cars for
Sure but not in a big scale up uh and then I think the iron phosphate um you have to look on on sodium batteries you have to look on manganese Rich batteries you have to look on all this kind of stuff this we do in the focus in the
Battery competent center from a development part material part and if it’s um R uh enough then we can change it here to build up because the process are nearly the same and for all solid state we will also do a prototype line here because to be in front of the battery
Industry and not always take what’s existing we have to think about what’s next so the next step would be to make the existing lithium ion batteries more sustainable more energy dense at the same time less energy in output in production and and I think there are two
Ways the one is high energy High nickel uh and then the sustainable way reduce the Cobalt uh reduce the CO2 use um recycled materials more and more um and these are the two steps you have to do you have to do and the next steps we
Will see what’s coming up but uh I think we are well prepared for the future with our battery competent Center what’s going on one of the main aspect is also that in the production renewable energy is being used I heard you want to step up that game even further so at the
Moment you tell your suppliers you have to use renewable energy yes and what is the next step there then the the step is the same 100% renewable energy so um you do it by real renewable energies like here you can see the solar panels on the on the roof and
Also um wind solar and this kind of stuff and um that’s the way for it’s 100% no excuse and here for you a quick insight into lithium ion battery technology the anode side of the battery cell consists of a copper carrier which is coated with a so-called slurry a mix
Fluid which contains graphite this coding process we can exactly see here the cathode side consists of an aluminum carum which is also coated with the material mix including the Cobalt and lithium between the two poles there’s separator layer all of these three layers are being rolled to a cylindrical
Round cell basically when the battery is empty the lithium ions are on the side of the cathode whereas they are moved to the anode side when the battery is being charged basically both processes are about converting Energy electric energy to chemical energy and vice versa the following infos concerns the current BMW
Gen 5 battery modules which are used for example in the i7 i5 and the I BMW buys the two critical raw materials directly and then leads them over to the cell manufacturers Samsung in Korea and catl and evve energy in China and from 2024 also North vault in Sweden this is a
Special purchase system to ensure that they have control over the whole supply chain to know that no raw material from doubtful sources is being used plus they can better ensure a price stability over these raw materials Cobalt is purchased in Morocco and Australia by that BMW also rules out Cobalt from Congo however
They are engaging in Social Development projects on location lithium is bought from four different suppliers at this moment will be five different suppliers beginning from 2024 the lithium mines are in Australia Argentina and Chile the main suppliers are G Fang in Australia who use traditional Mining and live in
Argentina who uses water mining the L one is often criticized for high water usage while it depends on where exactly the water is being used and how because there are different extraction methods that are criticized also on different ways BMW has now invested in a startup that aims to make these processes more
Efficient they have also employed external control agencies to control their sustainability goals and they’ve also teamed up in in a project where indigenous people are also taken into account The Next Gen 6 batteries at BMW will already save 60% of CO2 output in the production comparing to the current
Gen 5 batteries still in a global supply chain the challenge remains to be responsible and environmental friendly at any time worldwide for example to avoid child labor and hazardous impacts of mining vand BR spokesperson for product sustainability how is BMW tackling that yeah first message it is
Not only something we tackle from today on for the future we actually have quite uh a track record when it comes to the topic of sustainability in the supply chain you might remember that we started with Electric Mobility 10 years ago and from the very beginning we not only had
A strong focus on co2 optimization in the supply chain and on environmental aspects but also on social aspects and to be very clear uh child labor is not acceptable not when it comes to cars not when it comes to mobile phones or consumer electronics it is not
Acceptable with any product and this is our deepest conviction and to address that topic uh we started 10 years ago already with a team of uh 30 employees where their main job is monitoring our supply chain when it comes to sustainability aspects and monitoring does not only mean we work
Out a contract with the supplier who then gives it to the subs supplier and then we say ticking the Box contract is done we mentioned everything we want to get no this is not sufficient these 30 people actually monitoring what what is happening in the supply chain monitoring
M sort of investigative tools but they are also traveling the world and having a look at all our supply chains um whether we comply with everything that has been contractually uh determined this um observation of the supply chain you started that with the BMWi project and now and now you basically because
That was only these few vehicles but now you expanding it actually to all products to all cars the supply chain uh when it comes to materials like lithium and and Cobalt you need them for uh the whole model Fleet and the BMW i3 10 years ago was only the very beginning meanwhile we
Have 18 different um fully electric models already and we are securing for their whole supply chain that our standards in terms of sustainability ility are being uh fulfilled um uh and one aspect and where we are probably different from other manufacturers is that we are not only
Monitoring um and then trusting um that uh things happen accordingly to contract no we travel there we inspect the mines and we even buy the raw materials from the mines and we then give them to those who manufacture our uh battery cells so that means we have very many touch
Points as a company to see how all these standards are being fulfilled and when we have an indication that there’s a violation of our policy uh we certainly um uh fight this with very concrete measures so after all in the raw material process there is of course
Energy use use Mining and for example the water mining also in Chile and Argentina what can BMW do as a company to make these processes better because after all it’s an industrial process there’s of course always some kind of impact but what can you actually do to
Make it better or maybe to find new techniques yeah I think with our monitoring uh process and with the procedure that we buy the materials from the mine the mine that we have checked and then give it to those who manufacture the battery cells these are
Key aspects where we after doing so for some years already think that is a very good procedure and of course we have to pay attention that now where the need for raw materials is increasing because the fleet of electric cars is increasing that we um uh establish or that we keep
These standards for all the different sources we have uh for those materials but the basic uh that the principles they stay uh the same where do you personally see the biggest potential yet to make the whole car production process and also getting the raw materials even more sustainable from now on to the
Future yeah we we have various uh aspects in the supply chain and uh when we can focus a little bit on electric cars of course the battery cell is a very energy intensive project and um what we have achieved already is that in betteries cell manufacturing all the
Energy that is used electricity that the electricity is a green electricity The Next Step can be that also those processes which are not uh done by electricity uh also are optimized in terms of uh CO2 and um you have heard about the big uh transition from oil and
Coal based uh energy uh to for example Hy hydrogen energy we have first examples in our uh wider Network where we start this transition already for example as of next year we are using hydrogen also as an energy form in our Li plant and uh there are uh different steps forward and uh
Sustainability and energy optimization uh is uh not something in the raw material chain it is also something in uh car use phase where our electric power trins become more and more sufficient you have heard about everything that comes with Generation 6 and also when it comes to recycling and
To Circular battery cell these are the wide areas uh where next potentials um will be achieved there is actually an example where we can see where these Gen 6 batteries are being used and that is the so-called BMW NOA cluster and we have taken a look at that one for
You so we have talked a lot about sustainability but what does it concisely mean for a future BMW vehicle they show that here with the NOA cluster let’s take a deted look at that and I have heard that 90% of what we see today will be the next BMW 3 Series electric
So it’s really worse to take a deep look here at this vehicle here in the front we can already see this is a so-called shark nose taken from old BMW models so the top part laps a little bit over also interesting how the front bumper here
Really has this hole making like a real use of the bumper again can we see a light show again because there’s also here in the front you can see the double kidney is at the same time a headlamp unit it is basically both and this is a very interesting approach and what we
Can also see that you know from the bmwx this really huge maybe beava Grill this is more again this horizontal stress but I think it’s a really interesting approach to combine kidney and light because air intakes you really don’t need it anymore very interesting indentation right here and then the BMW
Logo is really stand on it you can really feel that there is no Chrome on this vehicle you might wonder about the NOA classer naming isn’t that Mercedes classer like a classer c classer that’s the German name for E-class C-Class well they didn’t copy from Mercedes no cluster was actually naming from 1962
Until 1972 and it was a model that was preceding the actual BMW 5 series this time here it will preed the BMW 3 Series we’ve also seen recently the Mercedes CLA concept this one is more approach it has more angular design Mercedes goes more into the round Direction this one
Has this rather typical sedan sty of course electric platform 21in wheel see and a massive styling also with recycled aluminum that’s a new technology they are using and this brings down the CO2 in the production already with aluminum is one of the biggest lever you can pull when you use recycled aluminum because
Takes so much energy to use it as a primary resource and that’s also the scheme of this whole vehicle Bringing Down the CO2 already from the production because that’s so crucial even more with electric vehicles here this Belt Line you can see this would be the normal one
And they actually en large the glass housing to the lower part they signal it by that and you remember maybe pass sedans you know from back in 30 40 years ago they had more greenhouse and they want to bring that back actually the size or length once again like a bmw3
Series but they promise a space on the inside of the BMW 5 series and we can see this classic sedan styling here in the rear also once again the light signature it goes almost all the way across has a little split here here in between so they really continue the
Front design also here in the rear and once again with this bumper that stands a little bit out this sprinkled material it should also signalize using recyclables materials and so on so it’s both using recyclables for the car and later on that you can recycle the car
The materials that have been used and once again going all the way circular it will be built in the plant in Hungary and that is also set up for CO2 neutral production as for the energy everything powered with renewable energies for example as for the hard
Facts like you know battery range and so on they don’t announce something’s concise yet they just say that the range and the efficiency and also the charging times everything will be improved by 30% if you compare to a noways BMW I4 so maybe we can aim at least in summertime
IDE conditions some 600 km or 370 miles and or maybe depending on the version the battery version if it goes smaller or bigger Maybe 5 km 300 miles and also charging times of 20 minutes somewhat 10 to 80% so this will will be a huge change and this platform here this Noya
Classer platform will be used for six different models not only for the three series but also for vehicles at completely different sizes so now I will try to use the force to open these doors here there we go yes I have learned very well inside of the door you can see they
Have this bright yellow color scheme now of course different colors will be available at some point fabric on the top part then here’s some microfiber use integrated touch buttons yeah that’s not to my liking I would like you know real stuff to touch and feel but I found this
Microfiber steing wheel pretty cool flat bottom that looks very futuristic but also racy wow this bright microfiber is also pretty cool and look at that return of cord or corduroy I remember the E30 BMW three series from my grandmother and it had this C material on the inside in
Black however here now in yellow and it has a very special feel to it and some kind of structure and it is not decided yet actually if they will return with this cord overall but if you vote in the comments here you can push BMW towards
It if you like this cord or coloy material I would love to see it in the serus production vehicle once again and you know that the manufacturers they read our common sense and then they also check out the customer feedback from you and then they can also take the feedback for real
Production cars seating position here in this you know this feeling here it feels really spacious because of all that glass surrounding here you can see the the front wind screen is put way down there so we have to see but as I said 90% of things you will see will be Ser
Production model so it is actually already quite realistic I still have some hat room with 189 or 6’2 there no problem and it feels actually like midsize sedan alike in a way but then again here it goes really wide in the front so the spacious feeling is indeed
Present more fabric use it more feels like a living room actually and you can maybe also already see a glimpse of that there is this new so-called panoramic vision and that is a blending of instruments and head-up display and it will also actually blend and with the
Screens here so you can actually then move parts from the screen here to the part in front of that so this is this interaction between the two screens which is a completely new idea actually am I supposed to move the steering wheel here maybe no one’s
Watching that’s a lot of oh I’m just kidding I I’m allowed to do that that’s a lot of fun almost feels like go-kart style right and here this cockpit overview can see the screen has a very interesting new form leans a little bit towards the driver and you can once
Again see how it can move with two fingers and send stuff then to this virtual dashboard in the top of the screen and it really Blends a little bit between the digital world and the reality I can very well see the speed right there projected range here at the
Moment is 476 km at status of 68% and we’ll see if that one is actually realistic temperature control will be here in the lower part as sliders yeah not sure if the physical buttons will return at some point I hope but of course there will also be voice
Input and so on and the gear selector here is in that lower part I suppose you will able to flip that actually and press here on Park mode on the side you’ve maybe already seen when I use the temperature here also the screen changes to the temperature so to speak like
Warmer or colder and we can also activate a sport mode here and we also have a reaction both from the screen and and from this digital headup display field there in the front and you’ll also be able to control this headup display here with swiping gestures at the
Steering wheel if you take a look here at the floor also how the front seats are attached everything seems to be flying or is a little bit you know elevated from the ground hey that’s maybe good for vacuum cleaning isn’t it of course the even floor the bottom of
The vehicle that you use all of this EV platform so and then of course as for the leg room it fits for tall adults see the angle of the legs could be improved maybe in the Standard Version and also underneath this glass roof I can still sit here so it is
Actually for adult proof even though it’s a concept more bright microfiber use and so on and this whole interior is animal leather free so it is a whole vegan interior of course not only good for Animals humans also for the environment because it’s here the biggest Le on the interior you can pull
To make it interior more sustainable so my two favorite features are the angular bouse Style on the exterior and the c or corduroy seats on the interior reminding me of the BMW E30 and then on the mini side for the all new models here the mini Koopa the small one and also the
Bigger mini countrymen they have already implemented some of the details we have been talking about like more recycling share and also less energy use in the production and also all mini Interiors are now animal free both seeds and also the steering wheel well this is the most important
Part of the research here this is Panther it’s a she yeah obviously by looks you can judge her name so she’s always taking part in the extensive research in the automotive industry of course especially with walking on my keyboard and uh giving some fake uh commands to the you know to the editing
Program and so on but back to a more serious topic just when we were doing our feature here for a very very long period of time we’ve been doing this and this also had a good reason because during that time things can also happen and one of the bad cases indeed happened
For BMW so talking about the Cobalt resourcing here one of the main suppliers the one from Morocco called manim they are also directly related to the kingdom of Morocco they actually got blamed for polluting the water with with Arsenic and this was a journalistic group who were collaborating with local
People on location where the mine is and then they found downwards the river a high concentration of Arsenic and also had a laboratory sry um researching that it’s a serious topic here lady yeah she doesn’t understand it’s good that she doesn’t have to care about these problems so back to the problem
Um yeah everyone who has cats knows what this is about so back to the Arsenic problem so there is a strong evidence at this moment that this mine has been polluting the water with arsenic plus there’s also claims that they are mistreating the workers there the company themselves they deny these
Allegations and now BMW has to act so they filed in two different independent audits to find out what’s going on on location because obviously if that evidence would be like 100% true and also 100% related to this mine BMW would have to cancel the contract immediately and go for another resourcing and this
Company is to blame of course as it is in the economy beam W cannot just cancel the contract because someone said this happened there they have to find out themselves also have an external proof with another Agency for example because when you are in this contract you just
Cannot cancel it that’s also a legal thing so they have to find basically a way to confirm that and then they can also cancel the contract if the allegations are true and this is a very you know good example how this Supply Chain management works in this case
However BMW were not the ones finding out about that although they also have close monitoring and so on but a journalistic group found out about that together with the local people so you see that these Control Systems not always work we have to find out more
About the story at a later stage when we were finishing this feature here the audit was not finished yet when it is finished I will also put it in the pinned comment below what was the result of that and how BMW reacted on that so what have we learned today first of all
The most sustainable vehicle is the one that is already built by a used car or hold your current car just longer but clearly we will still build new vehicles in our society then it makes sense to make them as sustainable as possible electric vehicles are first from production less sustainable need more en
Energ and resources because of the battery production but then and actually already quite early in the life cycle they get more sustainable from a CO2 standpoint then of course it plays a role how will the battery technology evolve can we use less rare materials in these batteries will there be all new
Battery technologies that make the whole battery more sustainable so for me the battery electric vehicle has the greatest potential that is actually The crucial point to be more sustainable even more in the future then on the exterior part aerodynamics plays such a huge role especially for electric
Vehicles as for the hardware parts of the vehicles chassis and so on is very important to use steel that is produced in a more efficient way and overall the car production the assembly line energy and heating these are the two main aspects and of course the best is if
They come from renewable resources renewable energy this is also happening already today but not in all plans and not to 100% share this will then be the future as for aluminum use here for example for the front hood most important thing is here using recycled aluminum recycling on the
Interior part it really depends on the individual part if it’s use for or not here at the moment the solution with letherette or fabric from 100% petroleum without recycling share is actually a quite efficient solution and we also heard that it is not using as as much
Oil as we would maybe expect so it’s a small share from the whole interior oil or plastic use and if we compare it to the use of oil in fuels for example or for heating overall it is basically not that significant future there will be plant-based materials which even then
Are better in the CO2 balance this will be then the next development and of course the biggest lever we can pull is to get rid completely of animal skin based leather on the interior of a vehicle for environment animals and the people that is actually just a factual
Base and I hope you really enjoyed our Insight here for today give a thumbs up and subscribe if you like it and also tune in to our next reviews
24 Comments
Special xmas gift for you! 🎁 We have worked a whole year on this with an extreme effort and put information together that has never been presented in this visual way, going in-depth on what is sustainability in car production. If anyone wants to talk about this issue, this is the reference source now. Please like, share, recommend subscribe (if you havent done yet) to honor our effort, I hope you really enjoy this piece of background information! Really appreciate the support this year, this is my way to say THANK YOU! 🙏 /Thomas
Public transport, cycle lanes ……the automobile is dead! Cars are destroying our environment.
BMW what a joke! What they did to the Mini was make it twice the size as the original. That’s how considerate to the environment they have been.
Fabulous documentary Thomas. Thank you. This was a very interesting insight into the decision making involved in the massive shift to battery power. However, it's made me more sceptical of the viability of battery technology as the entire process of mining, extraction and processing is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, which pretty much defeats the purpose of cutting down on c02. The numbers don't stack up unless more nuclear plants and renewable energy are used; which from the places these things are extracted from is pretty much impossible for the time being. Besides this, the thing that is overlooked is the colossal use of additional metals (precious) and minerals used in BEV's that are on average 80% more than ICE vehicles. I understand the chinese may have an edge over the use of these resources, hence the speed and amount at which they're churning them out, but I think western manufacturers aught to slow the transition until the resources and power capacity is available to support the supply chain powered by battery technology. The only viable system I see for the next few decades is hybrid power and hydrogen, unless we see something as exciting and revolutionary as what Toyota and Idemitsu recently announced comes to fruition.
Great material. Thank you for the great job you do !! Happy New Year 🍾
Wow. This is nat geo level documentary. Also nice to see from the company next door 😄. To be honest i didnt expect bmw to be so straight forward with this. Expected more corpo bullshit. Thomas i think you really have a thing for dokus too. Not only cars
If environmental is really the concern, how about making the cars reliable, repairable, upgradeable? Instead of building cars that loaded with recycled material that won’t even last before the mortgage pays off
German and Sustainable are two words from different planets.
How to produce more sustainable cars? answer : TOYOTA LC70 will sustain you to the end of your existence. one car for the rest of your life instead of all the cars they build and material they waste. JUST ONE CAR TO RULE THEM ALL.
Schon gemerkt, wie Haare und Bart sich ständig ändern!
I should like to express my appreciation and considerable admiration of the Autogefühl team and of you Thomas for doing something quite different – campaigning for sustainability, while not simply campaigning for EVs. Thank you. Please carry on doing it. Und gut, dass Sie das auch auf Englisch machen. Wir sind sonst so schlimme Fremdsprachler, dass wir es niemals mitkriegen würden. Although I hate your pronunciation of Aluminium! But then Munich was in the American Sector!
Thought the Fiat 500e Convertible was the first electric convertible? 🤔
Bring back the corduroy interior trim….. I've a corduroy jacket…. I'd be locked into the seat…😳😳😊
What's behind it, so far in the back sometimes we forgot it? The answer is so simple: money!
This is probably one of most educational automotive videos I’ve seen. While the focus was on BMW, hopefully one day you can do the documentaries about sustainable companies like Tesla, Rimac, or non-automotive brands like The Giving Movement, Pangaia and more.
Nice Documentary! Nice Effort! Value vs Materials! … FYI: MG Cyberster was the first Electric Convertible ⚡️
Thomas you’re amazing ❤😊
Amazing work Autogefühl team! Wow! 🪴🐮🚙
Have you considered visiting Von Holzhausen in Los Angeles (next time you go there for the car launch?)… I think Vicki is doing amazing work on building true sustainable solutions.
Great video! I can't help thinking that BMW NEVER doesn anything that doesn't serve them in reduced costs though. Most stuff they made so far has had one purpose – lower the production costs and kick the customer in the crotch. This sounds like good intentions over all though – but we'll see. Wanna bet that they want do make batteries that they can down the capacity on, and have the customer pay the full hardware price for – and then pay to unlock it in full. If they get it enviromentaly "friendly" enough they won't have to take shit for using resoroces that might never be used.
Or not. But it's BMW after all…
Das Konzeptauto ist wunderbar. Sieht endlich mal wieder nach einer richtigen Familienlimo aus und nicht nach einer Ballerbude für Vaper. Bin selbst voll auf dem Kord-trip und Kord ist auch wieder in. Ich würde es mir wünschen und definitiv anderen Materialien vorziehen.
Very good work Thomas. Next time when you happen to visit BMW, plz ask them what happened to their designs.
Great documentary, love how deep in the topic Thomas went and love that BMW provided this access. Thanks 😊
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