BMW ruft M-Modelle in die Werkstatt

Jetzt hat es BMW erwischt - und vor allen die starken Modelle: BMW ruft M5, M6 und M6 Cabrio wegen einer fehlerhaften Ölpumpe in die Werkstätten. Betroffen sind laut "Autobild" Fahrzeuge aus dem Produktionszeitraum von Juli bis September 2012.

BMW: Es kann zu Motorschaden kommen

Weltweit sind davon 440 ausgelieferte Fahrzeuge betroffen, die Zahl der deutschen BMWs ist nicht bekannt. Wird der Mangel nicht behoben, kann es zu einem Motorschaden kommen.

Halter werden angeschrieben

Für den fälligen kostenlosen Austausch der Ölpumpe benötigen die Werkstätten etwa zwei Stunden. Das Kraftfahrtbundesamt ist informiert. Betroffene Kunden schreibt BMW an.

Deutsche Auto-Industrie meldet Rekord-Absatz

Übersee fängt Europa-Delle auf

Die Autobauer sind vor allem in den Wachstumsmärkten USA und China gut aufgestellt und daher nicht so abhängig von der Entwicklung in Westeuropa. Dort ist der Automarkt angesichts der Schuldenkrise seit Monaten auf Talfahrt. Vor allem auf Europa fokussierte Hersteller wie Opel, Fiat oder PSA Peugeot Citroën dagegen schwächeln. Die Folge sind Überkapazitäten.

VW meldet neuen Rekord

Europas größter Autobauer Volkswagen hat nach vorläufigen Zahlen bis Ende September die weltweiten Auslieferungen um 10,6 Prozent auf 6,8 Millionen Fahrzeuge gesteigert und damit eine neue Rekordmarke erreicht. Auch für die Kernmarke Volkswagen berichteten die Wolfsburger von neuen Bestmarken.

"Erstmals wurden in den ersten drei Quartalen über vier Millionen Fahrzeuge verkauft", teilte VW in Wolfsburg mit. Die Zahl der Auslieferungen bei der Kernmarke VW kletterte bis Ende September um 10,5 Prozent gegenüber dem Vergleichszeitraum des Vorjahres auf knapp 4,2 Millionen Wagen.

In den ersten acht Monaten 2011 legte die verkaufte Zahl an VW-Autos um 11,5 Prozent auf 3,8 Millionen Wagen zu.

"Erstmals wurden in den ersten drei Quartalen über vier Millionen Fahrzeuge verkauft", teilte VW in Wolfsburg mit. Die Zahl der Auslieferungen bei der Kernmarke VW kletterte bis Ende September um 10,5 Prozent gegenüber dem Vergleichszeitraum des Vorjahres auf knapp 4,2 Millionen Wagen.

In den ersten acht Monaten 2011 legte die verkaufte Zahl an VW-Autos um 11,5 Prozent auf 3,8 Millionen Wagen zu.

Dabei wuchsen die Zahlen auch in Europa, wenngleich weniger stark als in anderen Regionen. In Deutschland legte BMW um 9,3 Prozent auf 26.021 Autos zu.

Audi mit über einer Million Autos

Erzrivale Audi verkaufte dank der guten September-Zahlen erstmals bereits nach neun Monaten mehr als eine Million Autos.

Die VW-Tochter setzten im abgelaufenen Monat weltweit 136.600 Fahrzeuge ab. Dabei profitierte Audi von starker Nachfrage in den USA, China, aber auch in Europa. In Großbritannien setzte Audi mit 22.389 Fahrzeugen sogar mehr ab als auf dem Heimatmarkt Deutschland.

Mercedes-Benz mit neuer Bestmarke

Auch bei Mercedes-Benz lief es Gewinnwarnung und Sparpaket zum Trotz gut.Daimler verkaufte in seiner Pkw-Sparte im September 132.606 Autos der Marken Mercedes-Benz, Smart und Maybach, das ist ein Plus von 2,4 Prozent.

Von Januar bis September lag der Absatz bei rund 1,04 Millionen Autos - ein Rekord mit einem Plus von 4,7 Prozent. Daimler-Chef Dieter Zetsche hatte Ende September angekündigt, 2012 in der Autosparte mit einem Gewinnrückgang zu rechnen. An den Prognosen für einen Rekordabsatz halten die Stuttgarter aber nach wie vor fest.

BMW Art Cars on show for the first time in the UK

The ICA, in partnership with BMW, the Mayor of London and the London 2012 Festival, will take over a landmark car park in Shoreditch for two weeks only from 21 July to 4 August for a unique exhibition of the BMW Art Car Collection on show for the first time in the UK.

The exhibition is part of the London 2012 Festival, a spectacular 12-week nationwide celebration running until 9 September 2012, bringing together leading artists from across the world with the very best from the UK.

The collection, initiated over 35 years ago, features BMW cars transformed by some of the world’s leading artists including: Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Ernst Fuchs, Robert Rauschenberg, M.J Nelson, Ken Done, Matazo Kayama, Cesar Manrique, Jeff Koons, A.R Penck, Esher Mahlangu, Sandro Chia, Jenny Holzer and David Hockney.

ART DRIVE! THE BMW ART CAR COLLECTION will show cars by 16 international artists over six floors in the NCP Car Park on Great Eastern Street in Shoreditch. The project, which brings together BMW’s excellence in car design and the ICA’s passion for and commitment to art, will be a one-off opportunity for art and design lovers as well as car enthusiasts.

The BMW Art Car Collection started when French racing driver and auctioneer Hervé Poulain invited his friend Alexander Calder to design a car that married artistic excellence to ‘an already perfect object’.  The end result was a racing car that would ultimately compete in the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1975. And so the BMW Art Car was born.

Since then some of the greatest names in contemporary art have added to the collection creating a wide range of artistic interpretations. David Hockney’s 1995 Art Car paints the inside of the car on the outside, revealing everything from internal engine parts to a dog in the back. Rauschenberg incorporates photographic transfers of Ingres paintings while Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein used the canvas of the car to portray the essence of speed.Well-known for its support for innovation and new talent across the contemporary arts, the ICA has sought out some exciting emerging names in design from the East End to help deliver this project, including Julia, Loop.pH and My Beautiful City.

The ICA is delighted to be working with LOCOG, BMW and the Mayor of London’s office on this prestigious project. Art Drive! presents an exciting opportunity to reach new and larger audiences. The ICA hopes to take on further projects of this type in order to extend its reach into new spaces across the city.

BMW Group announces £250m investment in its UK manufacturing operations

BMW Group has today announced a further £250m investment in its UK manufacturing operations by the end of 2015 at its plant in Oxford, steel body pressings operation at Swindon and engine plant at Hams Hall near Birmingham. This is to support the company’s international growth strategy for the MINI brand with increasing volumes and up to 10 different models in the new line-up in the mid-term. It comes on top of the £500m UK investment announced in June 2011 and means additional job security for the 5500 UK associates working in the UK MINI production network.

The announcement was made during a visit to MINI Plant Oxford by Business Secretary, Dr Vince Cable and Harald Krueger, Member of the Board of Management BMW Group, on the day when the Olympic Torch Relay will visit the plant.

“A year ago we announced a further investment of £500m in our UK production network by 2014 and today we are announcing an additional £250m, taking us through to 2015. This brings our total investment in the UK since 2000 to £1.75 billion” said Krueger. “Over the last decade, MINI has been a unique global success and the BMW Group has even greater plans for the future development of the brand. Plant Oxford has played a major role in this with cars being exported to over 100 countries around the world. This additional investment is great news for all our employees in the UK and shows the BMW Group’s commitment to Britain as a vital manufacturing base for us.”

Dr Vince Cable addressed company employees at Oxford, warmly welcoming the new investment, “BMW’s ambitious plans for MINI will ensure its UK sites at Oxford, Swindon and Hams Hall remain at the centre of MINI production worldwide. The investment of £250 million in addition to the £500 million last year demonstrates BMW’s commitment to the UK and safeguards jobs for the future.”

The extra volume for the growth strategy of the MINI brand and the complexity of new model lines means that additional production capacity for MINI sales beyond Oxford’s maximum capacity is needed in the medium term and the company is now considering how to achieve this.

“Our preferred option is to establish a contract manufacturer as a satellite production as close to our UK operations as possible, at the Nedcar plant in The Netherlands, with whom BMW is in discussions.” explained Krueger.  “Oxford will provide special MINI production expertise for any new operation, particularly in dealing with the high complexity and customer individuality which MINI demands and in operating state-of-the-art, multi-model production lines. Just as Munich is the centre of the BMW world, Oxford is and will remain the home and the heart of MINI.”

As the volume and variety of the MINI model line-up grows, there will be additional production requirements for engines and body panels from the BMW Group’s specialist UK facilities in Hams Hall and Swindon. Part of the new investment is to develop specific production facilities to meet these requirements.

BMW Group’s contribution to UK economy

A report published by Oxford Economics makes clear the significance of BMW Group’s business operations to the UK economy. The key findings of the study show:

• the activities of BMW Group contribute £1.2 billion each year to UK GDP
• for every additional £1 contribution to UK GDP directly generated by the company and its dealer network, £2.20 in GDP is created across the UK economy
• BMW Group and its dealer network employ 18,000 people directly while supporting over 46,000 UK jobs in total
• 80 per cent of MINIs and 90 per cent of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars are exported. In total, £2.4 billion worth of cars and engines are exported each year, accounting for around one per cent of all goods exported by UK companies.
• BMW Group and its dealer network spend nearly £1.2 billion each year sourcing goods and services from UK-based suppliers.
• Through the payment of employee income tax, national insurance contributions, business rates and VAT on vehicle sales, the activities of BMW Group and its dealer network directly contribute over £900 million per annum to the UK Exchequer

BMW unveils London 2012 Olympic Park Pavilion

The final countdown to London 2012 has begun and BMW Group today unveiled their Olympic Park Pavilion, expected to draw thousands of visitors each day of the Games.

Conceived by an award-winning British architecture firm, the BMW Group Pavilion represents a significant architectural addition to the Olympic Park, showing an exciting range of the company’s latest vehicles against the backdrop of the Olympic Stadium and Aquatics Centre. The structure also underlines the company’s longstanding commitment to design and sustainability with an array of individual rooftop pavilions exhibiting current models as well as concept cars of the future.

The Pavilion is light and open, appearing to ‘float’ on the river as water flows down the sides of the structure to create a constantly changing façade, whilst simultaneously accentuating its position on an elevated platform on the Waterworks River. The lower floor exhibition area is dedicated to the London 2012 Games fleet and interactive displays for guests to learn more about the BMW Group’s vision for the future of individual transport, its approach to sustainability and wider London 2012 partnership activities. These include how the Group has helped elite and aspiring athletes on their road to 2012 and brought improvements to the sporting world through technology. Also on display are prototype models including the BMW E-Scooter and the BMW i Pedelec concept – a recently announced concept electrically-assisted bicycle, and a new-look MINI Rocketman Concept, a revised version of the original Rocketman concept, first seen at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. Inspired by London 2012 and paying tribute to our capital, the new MINI Rocketman has a Union Jack-inspired colour scheme.

In an intimate cinema space a special film is shown before an opportunity to view the upper floor product displays. The top deck, comprising of nine individual rooftop pavilions, displays current and future BMW Group vehicles including the BMW i3 Concept, the BMW i8 Concept and the new generation BMW 3 Series Touring.

Tim Abbott, Managing Director, BMW Group UK comments: “The role of the Pavilion is two-fold – to explain the support we’re providing as the Official Automotive Partner to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, but also to provide a powerful visual symbol of our commitment to the highest standards of innovation in design and sustainability. We look forward to welcoming visitors and guests to the BMW Group Pavilion throughout the Games.”

Water plays a central role in the Pavilion’s design. The Waterworks River provides the water, which is filtered and used to cool the building as it flows down the walls, before being returned to the river. The upper floor is surrounded by water, reflecting views of the Olympic Park and each of the rooftop pavilions has a distinctive, light roof and slender, straight columns, designed to complement other Olympic Park structures including the Velodrome.

Principal architect Christopher Lee comments: “As a British-based practice, we were delighted to be selected to work with BMW Group for the UK’s first Olympic and Paralympic Games since 1948. It’s not every day that one has the opportunity to work with a brand like BMW on such a global stage and we are proud that the finished result will be seen by thousands of people during London 2012.”

In line with BMW Group’s commitment to sustainability, the environment was a key consideration in the design of the company’s 800m2 Pavilion. As well as the filtering and recycling of the river water, steel with high recycled content provides the structural backbone and use of other carbon-intensive materials such as concrete has been minimised.

The BMW Group Pavilion will be accessible throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games to all Olympic Park visitors and provides an opportunity for members of the public to learn more about the company’s latest innovations and role at the Games first-hand.

BMW Group Design wins 14 awards in the Automotive Brand Contest 2012

The Automotive Brand Contest – a prestigious international design competition – saw the German Design Council acknowledge projects by the BMW Group with a total of 48 awards. BMW Group Design was named a winner 11 times. In the Exterior category this included the BMW i8 Concept Spyder, BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe, MINI Roadster and the motorcycle models BMW S 1000 RR and Husqvarna Nuda 900 R. Among the winners in the Interior category were the BMW i8 Concept Spyder, BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe, MINI Roadster and BMW 3 Series Sedan. In the Events category, the BMW Design Studio Live won over the panel of experts, while the design installation COLOUR ONE for MINI by Scholten & Baijings earned the special accolade “Best of Best”. In addition, the BMW Group Design Team received an award in the special Team of the Year category and in the Image Film category for its film on the BMW Zagato Coupe. The BMW i8 Concept took a prize in the Innovation of the Year category, while several BMW brand campaigns were also honored.

With such a rich haul of awards, the German Design Council corroborates the exceptional standard of the BMW Group. The formal award ceremony will take place at the Automotive Designers’ Night on 27 September during the 2012 “Mondial de l’Automobile” motor show in Paris.

The Automotive Brand Contest is the only neutral, international design competition for car marques and, since its inception in 2011, has evolved into an important event for the sector. This year, for the second time, the German Design Council recognises outstanding product and communication design and turns its attention to the essential significance of a brand and its design within the motoring industry. Here, the focus is on the consistent, all-round “stage management” of a brand across all media and products. An independent panel of experts including representatives from the media, design and brand communication, as well as from higher education establishments, judged the submitted works in a total of 12 competitive categories, ranging from Exterior and Interior to Brand Design and Advertising Campaigns. Prizes were also awarded in four special categories. Prize-winners are automatically nominated for the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany, also presented by the Design Council.

The design of the BMW i8 Concept lends shape to the flawless interplay of technology and aesthetics. Its formal language and low-slung silhouette exude a sense of dynamic prowess, while the large windows and exposed aerodynamic features offer an unobstructed view of the concept car’s innovative lightweight design, underlining its commitment to maximising efficiency. The vehicle’s athletic character is also reflected in the state-of-the-art design of the interior, distinguished by its uncompromising focus on the driver and its use of renewable resources.

The sporty, emotion-led design of the BMW i8 Concept Spyder showcases the attributes of an open two-seater, coupling lightness, dynamics and efficiency with unusual aesthetics. The combination of intelligent lightweight design and cutting-edge hybrid technology helps the BMW i9 Concept Spyder on its way to genuine sports car performance, while its fuel efficiency figures are on a par with those of a small car. The sporty, dynamic impression is underscored by large body panels, a hunkered-down stance and numerous aerodynamic elements such as contact surfaces, spoiler lips, AirCurtains and aeroflaps.

The BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe combines the extraordinary aesthetics and dynamics of a classic BMW Coupe with a luxurious ambience, spawning a fascinating and utterly individual product personality. Its proportions – which are very low-profile for a four-door model – display sporting flair and luxury. With its low height and coupe roofline flowing into the rear, the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe embodies the expression of pure BMW aesthetics. The design of the interior harmoniously links the front and rear seats to create the perfect alliance of elegance and dynamics. Decor elements and tautly sweeping surfaces stacked one on top of the other signal the exclusive nature of the 6 Series Gran Coupe.

The BMW 3 Series Sedan is the best-selling premium vehicle in the world. Now in its sixth generation, it sets new benchmarks in terms of sporting proficiency, elegance and comfort. The pioneering history of the model serves as an inspiration for the new sports sedan, whose powerful styling embodies a new interpretation and systematic evolution of the brand’s hallmark design. The new BMW face, with flat headlights extending as far as the BMW kidney grille, accentuates the dynamic and elegant design of the new BMW 3 Series range.

The BMW Zagato Coupe arose from a collaboration between automotive enthusiasts: it is a BMW as seen through the eyes of Italian coachbuilder Zagato. And this is firmly reflected in the design, too, where Zagato melds the styling cues of both companies to create an emotive coupe in the best Zagato tradition. The sculptural and visually arresting distribution of mass is a Zagato hallmark and lends the BMW Zagato Coupe a distinctive personality at very first glance. The treatment of the surfaces, on the other hand, is clearly inspired by BMW.

The MINI Roadster is an elegant and sporty small car for discerning drivers who value high-quality design, powerful engines and precision-tuned suspension. The typical MINI interpretation of a compact roadster unites purist sportiness with spontaneous enjoyment of driving around town with the top down. Padded stainless steel roll-over bars and the windscreen frame round off its elegant design while at the same time ensuring optimal safety for driver and passenger.

To mark the Salone del Mobile 2012, MINI presented the installation COLOUR ONE for MINI by Scholten & Baijings. This work by the internationally esteemed Dutch design duo explores the design of a MINI One by examining its composition down to the very smallest components, and in doing so dissecting the design process as such. The result is a new thought-provoking and inspiring interpretation which, employing the familiar Scholten & Baijings stylistic devices of colour and material, queries the rules of automotive design and casts a new light on them.

Visitors to Munich Creative Business Week 2012 were able to gain an insight into the genesis of the unmistakable BMW look at the BMW Design Studio Live at BMW Lenbachplatz. As part of the exhibition on the new BMW 3 Series, interesting background information on the design process was presented, while the highlight was being able to watch BMW Group designers working on a 1:1 clay model and offering some additional fascinating insights into the world of BMW product design.

Video: Power of M

BMW M has always been the model of driving performance. 40 years of work has led to the all-new BMW M6 Coupe and M6 Convertible. Generating 560 horsepower and 500 lb-ft. of torque, the two M vehicles provide the most distilled driving performance ever and set a new standard for BMW M.

To highlight the capabilities and innovation in the M6 models, BMWUSA M Product Manager Matt Russell goes on camera at the New York Auto Show.

The M6 Convertible arrives this June and will be priced at $113,995 (including $895 Destination and Handling). 2013 BMW M6 Coupe will arrive in late summer and will carry Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Prices of $106,995 (including destination and handling).