BMW Group Malaysia announced yet another record breaking performance for the year 2011 with a total of 5,604 BMW, MINI and Motorrad vehicles, breaking down into 5,003 BMW, 301 MINI and 300 Motorrad vehicles delivered throughout the year, surpassing its performance in the previous year by 24% and making Malaysia one of the fastest growing markets throughout the entire BMW Group network. “2011 marked the ninth year of continuous and positive growth for BMW Group Malaysia and with our growing customer base, spurred by our BMW EfficientDynamics and BMW ConnectedDrive innovations, we are confident that we will continue to grow from strength to strength in the year 2012,” said Mr. Geoffrey Briscoe, Managing Director of BMW Group Malaysia at the showcase of the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept Car at The Pavilion, Bukit Bintang.
The BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept Car is the physical manifestation of the BMW Group’s vision of developing a sustainable, contemporary sports car with an innovative plug-in hybrid concept combined with a modified electric drive system to deliver the performance of a sports car while retaining the fuel consumption and emission levels of a ‘green’ car. Featuring a 3-cylinder turbo diesel engine with 2 electric motors, the supercar is able to generate a power output of 262 kW/ 356 hp, an astounding 800 Nm of Torque and boasts a 0-100km/h performance of a mere 4.8 seconds whilst only consuming an average of just 3.76 liters per 100km and only emitting 99g per km of CO2. The sports car is the precursor to the BMW Group’s revolutionary BMW i range of electric vehicles which are slated for introduction by the year 2013.
Recently featured in box office movie Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol, the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept Car’s visit to Malaysia arrives on the back of the showcase of the BMW ActiveE concept car to further display the company’s commitment to BMW EfficientDynamics and the future possibilities of Sustainable Mobility.
According to Briscoe, in the three years since BMW Group Malaysia has introduced BMW EfficientDynamics to the market with the fleet of BMW Advanced Diesel vehicles of the BMW 3 Series, BMW 5 Series, BMW 7 Series, BMW X1, BMW X3 and BMW X5 ranges, the premium automaker now accounts 15 to 20 per cent of its total vehicle delivered to customers to be that of the Advanced Diesel variant. The positive growth in the take up of the technology already proves that there is a growing interest and demand for Sustainable technology in the Malaysian Automotive industry.
Advanced diesel engines are able to consume up to 30 percent less fuel whilst at the same time, provide 20 percent more horsepower and up to 70 percent better acceleration. The engines are also reputed to emit 25 percent less carbon dioxide (CO2) compared to their petrol counterparts. At the current moment, the technology is also one of the more immediate solutions to tackling the issue of rising cost of fuel.
“Moving into 2012, we will continue to expand on our sustainable technology offering here in Malaysia. As modern engines have evolved into intelligent and efficient machines, we also see a need for the legislative infrastructure to change from one that is based solely on engine size to that of efficiency with the reduction in emissions being the main target,” said Briscoe. He further added that the showcase of the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics by BMW was intended to provide Malaysians with an understanding of the broad technology spectrum for the premium automotive industry the BMW Group is exploring for today and the imminent future which includes Advanced Petrol and Diesel combustion engines, Hybrid Technology as well as Electric and Hydrogen vehicles.
“It is important for Malaysia to move further up the green technology and sustainability chain, not only in its commitment towards the environment but as a matter of automotive and industrial policy as the future success of the automotive industry will be driven by sustainable products, policies and practises. The Malaysian government’s long stated intention of introducing Euro IV specification for fuel for instance is a critical step towards the country’s evolution into an actual green technology advocate and it is our hope that greater emphasis will be given towards the alternative engine technologies that are readily available today in the discussion of the second review of the National Automotive Policy scheduled for this year,” said Briscoe.
Briscoe further added that the Malaysian government’s extension of full exemption of import and excise duty on hybrid and electric cars until 2013 was a valued and important step as it has initiated momentum towards the establishment of a roadmap for the mass adoption of Clean and Green Technology in the automotive industry but that more could and needed to be done.
“It is vital that while we pursue new alternatives to achieve sustainability in the automotive industry that attention is also given to improve on existing technologies such as Advanced Petrol and Diesel engines which run on the lower sulphur content Euro IV specification fuel, as well as the introduction of incentives for all hybrid technology including those for hybrid vehicles above the 2,000 cc capacity as these engine can prove to be more efficient than their smaller counterparts. This move will provide a holistic support to what remains to be a very young segment of the industry at the moment,” said Briscoe.
Members of the public who are keen to learn more about the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept Car are welcome to visit the public showcase which will be held at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur from 18th to the 22nd of January 2012. Further information about the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics is available at www.bmw.com.my.
