International PR Association gives Golden World Award 2011 to the Pan-European eCall Trial by BMW Group, NXP and partners for “Best International Campaign" Joint eCall project by the BMW Group, NXP, IBM, Deutsche Telekom, DEKRA, Allianz Ortungssysteme and European automobile clubs ANWB, AvD, Touring, UAMK wins prestigious award from International PR Association, IPRA

Munich."Sending a Strong Signal to Save Lives" is the title of the joint pan-European campaign that has just won a top prize from International PR Association, IPRA. In an award ceremony in Istanbul on Oct 21, BMW Group and partners NXP Semiconductors, Deutsche Telekom, IBM, DEKRA, Allianz Ortungssysteme and the four automobile clubs ANWB, AvD, Touring, UAMK received the award for a campaign which included press events in several countries, a live eCall trial with three BMW cars through Europe and a virtual road trip that could be followed via Twitter. This is the second international award for the pan-European eCall trial, following the SABRE awards in May 2011. Next to great results in social and traditional media, the Pan-European eCall Trial helped to establish and intensify cooperation across relevant political institutions and decision-makers in the European telematics eco-system. It prooved strong industry support for making eCall a reality. In September 2011, nine months after completion of the trial, the European Commission announced their intent to make eCall binding in the European Union from 2015 onwards.

The eCall campaign: Sending a Strong Signal to Save Lives

If you are in a car accident in Europe, eCall could make the difference between life and death. The eCall emergency system automatically sends the GPS coordinates of the accident scene from your car to local operators, reducing the time it takes emergency services to arrive by 40 to 50 percent. The European Commission estimates that eCall could save 2,500 lives and €26 billion annually. The pan-European eCall Trial was a landmark event that raised public awareness and proved that the technology is ready. The eCall Trial kicked off with three BMW cars fitted with Advanced eCall leaving Madrid, Athens and Helsinki. The BMW Group is one of the pioneers in implementing telematics systems. The Advanced eCall is available in all BMW models and is already in place. The BMW Group is the world’s first automobile manufacturer to have offered eCall for over ten year. It is available cross-border to BMW ConnectedDrive users in their native tongue. The test cars were equipped with the telematics solution from NXP Semiconductors, ATOP (Automotive Telematics Onboard-Unit Platform). The three cars drove through 16 EU countries, regularly sending test eCalls to demonstrate that the technology is capable of working across borders. These were successfully received and processed by servers from IBM and Allianz Ortungsservices.

The Golden World Awards for Excellence in Public Relations were begun in 1991

Now in the their 20th year the IPRA (International PR Agency) Golden World Awards (GWA) recognize the best in Public Relations work from around the world. The Awards are organized in a series of categories covering the full gamut of public relations activities and after two rounds of judging from experts from many countries the selected winners for each category and grand winner are recognized at an annual Gala Dinner.

For further information on the Advanced eCall please see www.connecteddrive.info

For questions please contact:

Michaela Wiese, Product Communication BMW Automobiles,

Tel: +49-89-382-25358, Fax: +49-89-382-20626

Michael Rebstock, Head of Product Communication BMW Automobiles

Phone: +49-89-382-20470, Fax +49-89-382-20626

Media Website: www.press.bmwgroup.com

E-mail: presse@bmw.de

The BMW Group

The BMW Group is one of the most successful manufacturers of automobiles and motorcycles in the world with its BMW, MINI, Husqvarna Motorcycles  and Rolls-Royce brands. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 25 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

During the financial year 2010, the BMW Group sold 1.46 million cars and more than 110,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for 2010 was euro 4.8 billion on revenues amounting to euro 60.5 billion. At 31 December 2010, the BMW Group had a workforce of approximately 95,500 employees.