BMW boss wedges against EU Commission: "It doesn't work that way"

Oliver Zipse: The BMW boss criticized the EU Commission unusually harshly at the group's annual general meeting on Thursday. © Enterprise

BMW can look back on a record year. Shareholders can look forward to a hefty dividend. But the Munich-based carmaker is increasingly struggling with the political framework.

Munich – The Munich-based carmaker BMW has been unusually harsh in its criticism of the planned tightening of emissions standards in the EU: "It just doesn't work as currently planned," BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said on Thursday at the group's virtual annual general meeting in Munich. The introduction of the Euro 2025 standard planned for 7 is "completely unrealistic," criticized the CEO of the Bavarian carmaker.

In addition, Zipse once again accused the EU Commission of basing the planned requirements on completely unrealistic driving situations. For example, manufacturers should remain below the pollutant specifications in the future even if they drive at "full throttle over a mountain pass at minus seven degrees", pull a trailer and are "fully loaded". Everyone can answer for themselves how realistic such driving situations are, said Zipse.

BMW: CEO Zipse calls for postponement of new emissions standard

In view of the plans, the BMW boss once again urgently appealed to the EU to postpone the planned introduction of the Euro 7 standard until mid-2027. He also called on the EU Commission to align the limits with everyday driving situations instead of "special and extreme cases".

Last year, BMW made a record profit of 18.5 billion euros thanks to its majority stake in the Chinese joint venture Brilliance. Shareholders will also benefit from this with a hefty dividend of 8.50 euros per ordinary share and 8.52 euros per preference share. For the current year, the Group is aiming for a slight increase in unit sales and an operating margin in the core business in the range between eight and ten percent. In the current year, the Munich-based company is launching one of its most important earnings generators on the market with the new 5 Series. (UTZ)