Who is the most sustainable car maker? And by “sustainable” I mean everything, like fuel-saving ideas, green practices, etc. It’s bound to be a Japanese car maker, right? Toyota, with their hybrid technologies, Nissan and their electric cars or Honda and their Hydrogen FCX Clarity? Nope. Maybe it’s General Motors and their Volt? The answer lies in Munich.
Choicequote.co.uk reports that BMW has been named the most sustainable car maker on the Dow Jones. The survey was done by analyzing their supply chain and the actions they’ve taken to be more…well…sustainable. Commitments to recycling, greener productions processes, etc. BMW’s CEO, Dr Norbert Reithofer, was, naturally, very happy about this. He said “We are delighted to be recognized by the renowned Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes. This independent ranking confirmed once again that the BMW Group plays a leading role in the automotive industry of the future.” Yep, if you want to be associated with a sustainable, green car maker, buy a BMW. According to the Dow, it’ll buy you more green cred than a bicycle.
…even if i buy an X6M or a M5?
For every X6M or M5, BMW probably sells 500 320Ds. A car which is currently beating the average fuel economy of the Prius that is also in CAR magazines long-term test fleet. How many Tundras does Toyota sell for every Pious?
Low-production high-performance cars are irrelevant.
can we have some sources for that fuel economy data or is this the Top Gear myth repeated – if you thrash a Prius round a track you’ll get worse economy than a big diesel cruising?!
Anyway, the wider point is, exhaust pipe emissions are a pretty small part of overall OEM manufacturing and logistics sustainability.
Green is anti-human. BMW fits the mold.
Well-said.
Humans are ANTI HUMAN.
Not really surprising. A few years ago I needed to do some research/write a quick report about the EU directive on auto recycling. There a number of things that make it difficult to recycle a car – for example it’s really hard to separate the different types of plastics once a car has been through a shredder. One approach to mitigate that is to replace plastic with metal. Another is to reduce the types of plastics you use. BMW and Volvo seemed to be the leaders in taking the second approach (the harder of the two). BMW was also using more recycled materials in places they could get away with – for example, the trunk liner is 100% recycled plastic.
All the manufacturers are working to improve, but those that started long ago are naturally the farthest ahead at this point.
makes me feel goood that I drive a 4.4 liter 5 door luxury BMW sedan. now I think I’ll go outside and do some celebratory burnouts.
Add to that BMW Mobile Traditions. They’ll actually support the old cars going back to a pre-WWII 328 or a barely postwar /2 motorcycle. Which means you can do the ultimate green action – buy one car and keep it for your lifetime.
I would bet Porsche before they started churning out disposable cars (996 and everything after). Just because people kept them.
Buy the magazine – they do a report on all thier long-term cars every month. In this case, the same guy has been mostly driving the two cars. He does NOT live in an urban area, where the Prius would certainly have an advantage – though in Europe BMWs have stop-start, so not as big as here.
Thier experience jives with mine here in Maine with MKIV VW TDI vs. Prius – the TDI will usually edge a Prius in mostly highway driving. The Prius will certainly do better in stop and go, but that doesn’t happen here.