BMW PROFILES ITS DRIVE STRATEGY OF THE FUTURE IN VIENNA

Intelligent ongoing development of drive technology Option for the future: 'Efficient Dynamics' with electrified drive train Long-term development potential is with the internal combustion engine

Munich/Vienna. "Efficient Dynamics" is the declared goal of the BMW Group's
drive train development division. "This resolves the apparent conflict between
reducing consumption and emissions on the one hand and enhancing performance
and agility on the other," commented Professor Burkhard Göschel at the Vienna
Motor Symposium. It means that the requirements for environmental compatibility
and consumption are not viewed in isolation but in the context of the close
interplay between statutory requirements, social acceptance and customer
demands.

Intelligent ongoing development of drive technology

"An important component in developing drive technology lies in intelligent
electric power for the drive, for example through an 'active gear', combined
with high-performance capacitors. Developing a hybrid vehicle that drives for
long distances on electric power is not commercially viable over the long term
and is therefore not goal-oriented. Not everything that is technically feasible
is also economical and ecological. And, most importantly, it doesn't
necessarily convince the customer. An intelligent drive where power can be
called up at any time and which provides more spontaneity for less consumption
is a realistic development proposition," emphasizes Professor Göschel.

Option for the future: "Efficient Dynamics" with electrified drive train

BMW has already played through an extreme initiative. An electric motor
integrated into a BMW X5 experimental vehicle between the internal combustion
engine and the gearbox supports the conventional drive during acceleration. The
research vehicle was launched in 2003 and produced responses that had never
been attained before, while also increasing torque to 1000 Nm in the lower
range. On the other hand, the vehicle also reduced consumption by up to 15
percent in the driving cycle.

Looking into the future, Professor Göschel can imagine a compact "active gear"
that integrates the electric motor and the power electronics in a single
assembly within the gearbox. This will significantly reduce the additional
weight and the construction space required for the system. High-power
capacitors, elegantly stowed in the door sill, could contribute to an
additional benefit. By comparison with battery systems, capacitors have
significantly higher charge and discharge rates over the short term. As
Professor Göschel sees it, the function of an intelligently honed drive is to
intervene electrically in the drive train and optimize driving situations like
stop-and-go traffic or acceleration.

Long-term development potential is with the internal combustion engine

However, all concepts geared towards intelligent electrification remain no more
than an auxiliary solution for the internal combustion engine. BMW has
significantly reduced consumption and emissions in diesel engines during recent
years, while simultaneously increasing performance and torque. Valvetronic, the
fully variable valve control system, has allowed BMW to achieve comparable
improvements in the petrol engine. In future, the introduction of spray-guided
direct injection and the implementation of lean combustion will bring
consumption in the petrol engine closer to values attained by modern diesel
units.

Over the long term, hydrogen is still reckoned to be the fuel with the greatest
potential for safeguarding mobility in the future. BMW specialists are working
on the hydrogen combustion engine, where an overall efficiency of up to 50
percent is conceivable in the long run.

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Tel.: +49-89-382-24697, Fax: +49 89 382-27563

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