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BMW’s head of sustainability suggests motorists should prolong the life of the cars they already own rather than buying new models

by: Tristan Shale-Hester
24 Nov 2022



Drivers should seek to prolong the life of their existing cars rather than replace them with brand new ones, according to BMW’s sustainability boss.

Monika Dernai, sustainability team lead at BMW, told an audience in London that the automotive industry could reduce waste by encouraging people to hang on to their existing cars and retrofitting them with upgrades to keep them fresh instead of constantly buying new models.

“We really need to think about prolonging the life of cars; not having a used car market where you sell cars to each other, but maybe take a car and extend its lifespan,” she said. “The idea could be that you could freshen up the interior.

“We need new skill sets in the aftermarket and to design cars so that the seat can be removed and a fresh seat can be moved in – then it’s a used car that looks like a new car. It can have the same owner, who then doesn’t buy a new car, but we still have a business model as BMW and the whole of society benefits from that.”

Dernai was speaking at a panel discussion on the topic of creating a circular economy, the idea of which is that society should reuse and recycle everything as much as possible and have minimum waste.

Although Dernai suggested the car market would need to change to be compatible with a circular economy, she said there is still a need for car ownership.

“Can we actually just move everybody to public transport?” she said. “I think the answer is no. You’re worried about the public transport in the UK, but if you look at the US it’s even more desolate. So I think there’s still a market for cars out there.”

Also speaking at the event was Geoff Mulgan, professor of collective intelligence, public policy and social innovation at University College London. He talked about towns such as Freiburg in Germany, where cars are largely prohibited and everyone is encouraged to walk, cycle or use public transport. He acknowledged, however, that such a concept could come across as “puritanical” and “authoritarian”.

Source: Auto Express

[MJBO]

It's obviously a good idea in theory, but as long as companies are publicly traded and "must" show growth and sales, this is more a fantasy.

Taxation and other factors enter into it too, as it often makes business sense to turn a vehicle over before the warranty expires and the vehicle's value is too low.

[LogicalApex]

If they are smart and start building this now they can potentially open up a new revenue stream.

ICE cars are going away soon, but existing ICE cars will persist for decades and they could get new life out of selling refurbishment parts and sanctioning those with new updates. It can also help them tap into new revenue as higher rates puts downward pressure on car sales. You might be less inclined to absorb a new car note at 10% interest, but upgrading iDrive to a new version for a few thousand for new features might pull in some revenue.

But this requires forward thinking.

[TR930]

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

If they are smart and start building this now they can potentially open up a new revenue stream.

ICE cars are going away soon, but existing ICE cars will persist for decades and they could get new life out of selling refurbishment parts and sanctioning those with new updates. It can also help them tap into new revenue as higher rates puts downward pressure on car sales. You might be less inclined to absorb a new car note at 10% interest, but upgrading iDrive to a new version for a few thousand for new features might pull in some revenue.

But this requires forward thinking.

ICE cars are not going away anytime soon.

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by TR930

ICE cars are not going away anytime soon.

I was speaking in the context of BMW. They are planning to meet the ICE bans on new car sales by shifting fully to EVs by 2035. So, for their new car sales they are going away. Obviously, cars built and sold before that happens will be around for a very long time.

[Germanauto]

This is comical coming from BMW, the masters of planned obsolesce and pump-and-dump disposable leases. Reliability wasn't a priority before because it wasn't value-added to their bottom line, but in today's social/political climate they can market it as a "sustainability" initiative. The amount of corporate greenwashing BS these past few years man, Jesus.

[mcskeezy]

I agree, hopefully this means they go the same route as Porsche and start offering 3d printed OEM parts for older models. Maybe without the Porsche tax though.

[Wolf 335]

Yea, lower the dealer mark up of 300% and we will keep them forever.

[zx10guy]

Well, they should stop using crap plastic parts; especially engine parts. But not to worry, if they keep churning out these abominations in styling, people would be forced to keep their old cars from having to not look at these ugly as sin cars they've been churning out lately.

[ASAP]

Fake news made to somehow make them look good... this is not possible in a capitalist society w consistent YoY need for revenue turn and growth.

Here, a couple of experiments for BMW to try this for 1 year instead of just talking-

Massively Discourage Leasing by turning up money factors
Make your focus quality / reliability not tech / feature
Offer a class leading 6 or 7 year comprehensive warranty as standard

Come back to me in 1 or 2 years and let's see how things go...

[Bking60]

Originally Posted by ASAP

Fake news made to somehow make them look good... this is not possible in a capitalist society w consistent YoY need for revenue turn and growth.

Here, a couple of experiments for BMW to try this for 1 year instead of just talking-

Massively Discourage Leasing by turning up money factors
Make your focus quality / reliability not tech / feature
Offer a class leading 6 or 7 year comprehensive warranty as standard

Come back to me in 1 or 2 years and let's see how things go...

I agree. Sort of like reverse psychology, tell them to keep their old cars and many will wake up one day and say, he's not telling me what to do, I'm trading in today.

[DanG]

His thinking is similar to mine. I plan on keeping my M2 for a long time.

[BobBMWX3]

Fiat is spending 10mil on this concept as an add on to their facility in Turin (or for the Italians on here Torino). Renault and another company (maybe Toyota) already have plants built on this. Different implementation, but this was just a panel discussion which is very theoretical. I like the concept if it would allow me to really enhance my car. New body, new tech, new transmission, etc. Just replacing trim would not do it for me.

[XMetal]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

This is comical coming from BMW, the masters of planned obsolesce and pump-and-dump disposable leases. Reliability wasn't a priority before because it wasn't value-added to their bottom line, but in today's social/political climate they can market it as a "sustainability" initiative. The amount of corporate greenwashing BS these past few years man, Jesus.

What is this reliability myth you speak of? My two BMWs (e53 X5 and e86 Z4MC) have been super reliable

Originally Posted by DanG

His thinking is similar to mine. I plan on keeping my M2 for a long time.

Way ahead of you. My 2004 e53 OG X5 is about to turn 19 years and my 2008 e86 Z4MC will turn 15 next spring. No plan on selling either.

[BMWCCA1]

I'd be happy just for them to send me seat cables for my 2002 E39, instead of me buying new seats from them. It sounds to me like their sustainability "expert" knows nothing about the cost of auto components.

[P1]

I wouldn't have a problem with this. But make them reliable and cheap to fix once you get past the initial factory warranty. Or make the extended warranties cheaper.

[Hit_Apex]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

This is comical coming from BMW, the masters of planned obsolesce and pump-and-dump disposable leases. Reliability wasn't a priority before because it wasn't value-added to their bottom line, but in today's social/political climate they can market it as a "sustainability" initiative. The amount of corporate greenwashing BS these past few years man, Jesus.

If you were made CEO tomorrow, how would you proceed?

[Germanauto]

Originally Posted by Hit_Apex

If you were made CEO tomorrow, how would you proceed?

I'd proceed by cussing out prior execs for the shit reliability they pumped out for decades.

[M4Tejas]

BMW’s head of sustainability. What else are they going to tell you? Install a V12 Rolls Royce vintage Merlin into a M5? Too predictable. Woke.

[Fugly M3]

Extend the warranty and free service to 6/100k and you'll have a lot more people willing to keep the cars longer. Would probably change the resale value curve a little as well.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by F8SEVEN

Extend the warranty and free service to 6/100k and you'll have a lot more people willing to keep the cars longer. Would probably change the resale value curve a little as well.

This is really the answer as well as doing anything to discourage leasing...

This is just isn't something they'll do... such BS here I don't even know where to start.

[Mingwan]

There must be a disconnect in the chain of command at bmw hq.