At a branch meeting, the new BMW CEO Oliver Zipse understood the current criticism of the car. As a means of transport there would be enough alternatives in many cases, he said. You can completely do without the car but not yet.
"If you live in a city or large city with very good infrastructure, you can also be without a car," said the acting since August BMW CEO at an industry event of the "Handelsblatt" in Stuttgart. "If you want to get into the inner city, then you have a variety of alternatives, your own car is rightly disputed even in this case," said the manager.
Nevertheless, the car is not inconceivable without the company. "In many applications and regions of the world, the car is even the only mass-market mode of transport that works at reasonable cost over greater distances from door to door," said Zipse.
Public transport in cities often well developed
According to Zipse, only one percent of the population in Europe and the US live in super-urban areas. Mobility services such as public transport are generally well developed there. Even in China, the majority of the population do not live in big cities, said Zipse.
Nevertheless, there could also be good reasons for city dwellers to build their own car, for example because of greater privacy or because a comfortable means of transportation would also be in demand beyond the city. For families with children outside the inner city cores, the car is often the best alternative, says Zipse.
BMW in the criticism
According to a study by the Ministry of Transport, the car is the most important means of transport in Germany. According to the survey, 43 percent of all journeys by car or motorcycle in Germany are covered.
BMW was recently criticized because the automaker refuses its customers the retrofitting of emission control systems and a cost assumption for it. With such systems even older diesel could enter the numerous traffic prohibition zones in German cities.
