BMW Group Mobility of the Future. Innovation days in Asia 2010.

Munich/Tokyo/Seoul/Hong Kong. On 15 June the BMW Group will be launching its Innovation Days Asia Tour in Tokyo, Japan. Scheduled to take in three of the continent’s largest metropolises en route, the Tour will see high ranking experts talk to medias, politicians, stakeholders and environmentalists in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul. The focal point of their discussions will be the EfficientDynamics strategy of the BMW Group, including current and future urban mobility solutions. 52 million people, three cities and a single challenge: how to keep megacities moving in the future while at the same time reducing the environmental impact of personal transport. That is the goal not only of urban planners and politicians but also of BMW Group engineers, who are now going out on location to visit three of the most significant Asian megacities.

Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul are just three of a whole series of megacities around the world. Already, they are struggling to improve their traffic systems and curb environmental impacts.  It is the needs of these cities and their people that the BMW Group is seeking to address with its current work on a groundbreaking vehicle concept: the Megacity Vehicle. Due for launch in 2013, the first all-electric, series-produced vehicle by the Munich-based producer represents a departure from traditional automotive design and production. It looks instead towards meeting the demand for sustainable mobility in large urban areas.

BMW Group developers have been working with customers to research electric mobility since 2009. In Germany, the USA and the UK, the world’s largest fleet of electric vehicles to date has been on the roads, driven by normal people in normal road traffic. The 600 plus all-electric MINI E cars have clocked up over 1,000,000 km and delivered comprehensive insights into user behaviour and the requirements of day-to-day driving. Now, with the “BMW Group Mobility of the Future. Innovation days in Asia 2010”, the BMW Group is turning its attention to the needs of these three megacities.

“Traffic problems and their environmental impact are generally far worse in the megacities of Asia than in western metropolises,” says Günther Seemann, Head of BMW Group Sales for Asia, Oceania and South Africa. “As a result, demand for alternative drive systems is expected to soar there very soon.” Equally sought-after will be information, as the environmental awareness of these cities’ inhabitants is developing faster than elsewhere in the world.

With more than 34 million inhabitants, the Greater Tokyo area is the most highly populated urban agglomeration in the world; in Seoul, the population density is more than four times that of Berlin. These megacities are set to become ever more important in the global environmental debate as their inhabitants become increasingly mobile. The information that is gathered during the Asian Tour will flow directly into the development of the BMW Group’s future concepts.

The Tour “BMW Group Mobility of the Future. Innovation days in Asia 2010” will offer media representatives and stakeholders in the different countries detailed, first-hand information on the latest technologies available from the BMW Group. From the EfficientDynamics package, to ActiveHybrid technology, the MINI E and the Megacity Vehicle for the future – a wide range of subjects will provide the focal points for workshops at the event. As well as benefiting from opportunities for discussions and information, visitors to the Tour will be able to experience a number of different vehicles for themselves. Among them will be the MINI E, the X6 and a range of models with EfficientDynamics technology. In Tokyo, the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car will be on display as well.

The Tour kicks off on 15 June with a four-day event in Tokyo. It will welcome visitors in Seoul from the 2 to 12 September and make its final stop in Hong Kong from 19 to 20 October.

A video about the BMW Group Innovation Days Asia Tour can be found on YouTube under http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM6Vv4Jke6U or downloaded from the BMW Group PressClub at www.press.bmwgroup.com.